Clearinghouse Project

Laws and normative acts database

Microfinance sector is strengthening all around CEE and the NIS region. However, like in most other regions, regulatory issues are one of the key obstacles to the development of the microfinance industry. This is even more than true in the CEE and NIS region, where countries are reconstructing the legal system. Consequently, a strong need of creating legal and regulatory basis environment for MFIs is perceived. Within this process, law drafters are desperately looking for good examples of microfinance regulations from neighbouring countries. In fact, the similarity in the basic issues facing law drafters in different countries of the CEE and the NIS region indicates, that access to proper, reliable and updated laws would benefit all classes of actors in the microfinance market. In response to this need, MFC decided to create a database containing laws and secondary legislation on microfinance enacted in the CEE and the NIS countries. The database contains laws and normative acts being in force as well as draft laws undergoing the legislation process. Please find below the list of acts gathered by MFC.


Country
Albania

  • Law on credit and savings associations
  • Bank of Albania rulebook for the licensing of savings&credit associations and their unions
  • Bank of Albania rulebook for the supervision of savings & credit associations and their unions
  • Banking Law
  • Law on the Central Bank

Armenia
  • Draft law on microcrediting organizations
  • Civil code
  • Law on making amendments and supplements in the law of the Republic of Armenia on the "Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia."
  • Law on joint stock companies
  • Law on agricultural credit clubs
  • Draft of law on limited liability companies
  • Draft of law on bankruptcy of banks
  • Law on Central Bank
  • Law on banks and banking
  • Law on credit organizations
  • Law on profit tax
  • Law on VAT
  • Decree on regulations of credit institutions, economic standards of credit institutions
  • Law on pawnshops
Azerbaijan
  • Law on banks and banking activity
  • Law on Central Bank
B&H
  • Draft Law on Microcredit Organisations
  • Law on microcredit organizations
  • Ministery of Finance decision on documentation necessary for the issuing of approval for funding of the MCOs
  • Minister of the social policy rule book on the content and manner of keeping the register of MCOs
  • Law on banking agencies
  • Law on banks
Bulgaria
  • Law on banks
  • Cooperatives act
  • Law on the Central Bank
  • Cooperative Act
  • Law on Deposit Guarrantee
  • Law on legal persons with non profit purposes
Croatia
  • Law on Savings and Loans Cooperatives
  • Draft of law on microfinance associations
  • Banking law
  • Law on the Croatian National Bank
Czech Republic
  • Banking Law
  • Law on the National Bank
Georgia
  • Civil code
  • Law on activity of commercial banks
  • Law on entrepreneurs
  • Law on investment activity promotion
  • Law on the National Bank of Georgia
  • Tax code
  • Law on Bankruptcy Procedure
  • Law on Credit Unions
  • Administrative code
Hungary
  • Law on credit institutions and financial enterprises
Kazakhstan
  • Law on banks and banking activity
  • Law on microcrediting organizations
Kosovo
  • UNMIK regulation on banking and payment authority
  • UNMIK regulation on registration and operation of NGOs
  • UNMIK regulation on bank registration, licensing and supervision
Kyrgyzstan
  • Law on microfinance organizations
  • Law on credit unions
  • Tax code
Lithuania
  • Law on credit unions
  • Law on Central Credit Union
Macedonia
  • Law on microfinancing banks
  • FX law
  • National bank law
  • Banking law
Mongolia
  • Banking law
  • Law on Central Bank
  • Central bank regulation on licensing NBFI
Montenegro
  • Central Bank Council decision on microcredit financial institutions
  • Law on banks
  • Decision on Credit Unions
  • Law on the Central Bank
Poland
  • Banking law
  • National bank law
  • Law on credit unions
Romania
  • Draft Law on Microfinance Commercial Companies
  • Ordinance on licensing credit agencies to manage funding for microcredit
  • Government decision for approval of micro schemes for licensing of credit agencies
  • Banking law
  • Law on Central bank
Russian Federation
  • Federal law on agricultural cooperation
  • Federal law on citizen's credit consumer cooperatives
  • Federal law on state support for small business in the Russian Federation
  • Regulation of the Central Bank on prudential rules applicable to NBFI
  • Federal law on inslovency of credit institutions
  • Federal law on the Bank of Russia
Serbia
  • Draft of law on MFIs
  • Law on banks and other financial organisations
  • Law on the National Bank of Serbia
  • Money laudering act
Slovakia
  • Banking law
  • Law on the National Bank
  • Law on Protection of Bank Deposits
Tajikistan
  • Law on banks and bank activities
  • Decision of the National Bank of Tajikistan on loan partnership
  • Law on microfinance organisations
Turkmenistan
  • Law on commercial banks and bank activities
  • Law on Central Bank
Ukraine
  • Law on financial services and state regulation of financial services markets
  • Law on credit unions
Uzbekistan
  • Law on banks and banks activity
  • Law on the Central Bank
  • Law on CUs
  • Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers #309 on the measures to development of microfinancing

Please note that the legal environment changes from day to day in the CEE and NIS region and for that reason the legal acts gathered in our database may not be the most updated versions.