BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Joan Carette, Philippe De Prez and Thomas Derval, Simont Braun
Consumer credit offered to consumers by CIs, other licensed lenders or indirect peer-to-peer consumer lending platforms Consumer credit is subject to a highly regulated regime in Book VII of the CEL – see Articles VII.64–122 (rules of conduct) and VII.148–216 (prudential requirements). This regime sets out compulsory rules for aspects of the contractual relationship, such as: • pre-contractual information; • content of the agreement; • security interests; • rules for termination; • maximum interest rates; • related information duties when amending credit terms; Lenders are subject to an obligation to obtain prior validation of their credit agreement templates by the FPS Economy. On 18 October 2023, the EU legislator adopted EU Directive 2023/2225 on credit agreements for con - sumers (CCD2). Member states had until 20 Novem - ber 2025 to transpose CCD2, and its provisions will apply as of 20 November 2026. However, Belgium has not yet implemented CCD2 into national law. This revision of the former Directive on consumer credit agreements aims to remove legal uncertainty and further harmonise the EU consumer credit regulatory framework, particularly regarding new credit products developed in the online environment. These upcoming changes are expected to have a particular impact on (currently unregulated) “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) products. • joint offer of insurance products; • tolerance before enforcement; and • extrajudicial management complaints. Peer-to-peer lending between consumers is not regu - lated and is only subject to general contract law (see directly below). However, it should be noted that peer- to-peer consumer lending may not result in a public offering. For this reason, consumer peer-to-peer lend - ing practices in their purest form (where consumers lend directly to other consumers through a matchmak - ing platform) are not allowed in Belgium. Alternative (indirect) peer-to-peer models are, however, present.
services provided by these can be qualified as invest - ment services (see 3.1 Requirement for Different Business Models ). An issue that might arise about the fulfilment of best execution by robo-advisers advising consumers and businesses could be the malfunction - ing of the automated tool (eg, through manipulation or mistakes resulting from being too fast or too focused on some aspects). For consumers in particular, issues may arise regarding the processing of (personal) infor - mation and the (mis)understanding of advice by the consumer. In any case, investment services providers remain ulti - mately responsible for the execution of the orders and cannot hide behind the use of robo-advisory technol - ogy to avoid their liability vis-à-vis investors. 4. Online Lenders 4.1 Differences in the Business or Regulation of Fiat Currency Loans Provided to Different Entities Legal Regimes Applicable to Loans/Credits Schematically, there are four different legal regimes applicable to loans/credits in Belgium. Mortgage credit offered to consumers by CIs or other licensed lenders Mortgage credit is subject to a highly regulated regime in Book VII of the Code of Economic Law (CEL) – see Articles VII.123–147/38 (rules of conduct) and VII.148– 216 (prudential requirements). This legal regime sets out compulsory rules for aspects of the contractual relationship, such as:
• pre-contractual information; • content of the agreement; • security interests; • rules for termination; • maximum interest rates;
• joint offer of insurance products; and • extrajudicial management complaints.
Lenders are subject to an obligation to obtain prior validation of their credit agreement templates by the FPS Economy.
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