Credit servicers and credit purchasers

These activities are:

• collecting or recovering from the borrower any payments due related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit agreement itself;
• renegotiating with the borrower, in accordance with national law, any terms and conditions related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement, or of the credit agreement itself, in line with the instructions given by the credit purchaser;
• administering any complaints related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit agreement itself;
• informing the borrower of any changes in interest rates or charges or of any payments due related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit agreement itself.

Credit servicers

Credit servicers require an authorisation issued by the AFM. An application for an authorisation can be submitted as soon as the Non-Performing Loans Directive (NPLD) has been transposed into national legislation (including the Financial Supervision Act – Wft) in mid-2024.

If you are planning to apply for an authorisation in the Netherlands, or if you have any questions about the NPLD, please contact us at kredietservicers@afm.nl.

Licensed credit servicers

To be able to provide credit servicing activities, you need an authorisation issued by the AFM. For existing credit servicers, a transition period will apply. More information concerning authorisation conditions, the application process and the respective fees is expected in mid-2024.

Rules and regulations

The NPLD was published in November 2021 and came into effect on 30 December 2023. The NPLD must be implemented in Dutch law, including the Financial Supervision Act. The Dutch Ministry of Finance is currently enacting this implementation. The progress of the Directive’s implementation can be tracked on the government’s legislation agenda, with further information on relevant rules and regulations being updated throughout 2024.

European passport

Credit servicers licensed by an EEA member state have the freedom to provide credit servicing activities in another member state under a European passport. The passport is issued by the national competent authority (NCA) of the credit servicer’s home member state. Subsequently, the home member state’s NCA will notify the NCA of the host member state where the credit servicer intends to be active. Credit servicers with an incoming European passport for the Netherlands will be included in the AFM’s public register of credit servicers.

Credit servicers register

As soon as the first businesses are authorised, the public register of credit servicers will go online. The register will contain information on credit servicers authorised to operate in the Netherlands. It will also include foreign credit servicers with a European passport. These credit servicers are supervised by the national competent authority (NCA) of their home member state. Since these businesses are not licensed by the AFM, they do not operate fully within the AFM’s supervisory scope.