How the FSMA Took Over Credit Supervision

For consumers, this change has no impact on ongoing contracts: your existing loans are not modified simply because the FSMA became the competent authority. However, for professionals, the rules are much stricter. Any lender or intermediary who wishes to operate in Belgium must obtain an approval or a registration from the FSMA and demonstrate that they meet a series of legal, financial and ethical criteria. Initially, applications had to be submitted via an online platform from November 2, 2015. Today, this digital process remains the standard: the FSMA clearly indicates that the online channel is the only valid route to submit an approval or registration file, which guarantees traceability and transparency in the handling of applications.

Conditions for Approval and Registration

To obtain approval, credit professionals must satisfy several conditions set by the FSMA. Among these, a key element is the existence of a minimum capital, which is set at €25,000 or €2,500,000 depending on whether the activity concerns a consumer credit contract, a mortgage credit or a credit line. This capital requirement aims to ensure the financial robustness of the institution that grants or intermediates your credit. In addition to capital requirements, professionals seeking registration must also meet strict criteria such as:

• Holding appropriate professional liability insurance
• Demonstrating professional honorability and a clean track record
• Adhering to an extrajudicial dispute resolution mechanism to deal with complaints

When this framework was introduced, existing lenders and credit intermediaries were granted an 18‑month transitional period to submit their approval or registration application. Today, any professional active in the market must be in full compliance with these obligations to continue operating legally.

The Role Still Played by the SPF Economy

Even though the FSMA supervises access to the profession and the conduct of lenders and intermediaries, the SPF Economy has retained an essential role: the control of credit contract models. This includes standard loan documents and amortization tables, which must comply with all applicable legal provisions. Any modification to these contract templates is subject to prior approval by the SPF Economy. This dual supervision – FSMA for professional approval and conduct, SPF Economy for contract content – creates an additional layer of protection for borrowers, ensuring that both the form and the substance of credit contracts are strictly regulated.

What Sanctions Can the FSMA Impose?

To ensure that rules are respected, the FSMA has a wide range of coercive measures against the professionals it supervises. It can, for example, publish a public warning to inform consumers about risky or non‑compliant practices. These warnings serve as an important alert when you are choosing a credit provider. The FSMA can also impose various corrective measures and conduct anonymous inspections to verify that obligations are being followed in practice. Where necessary, it may adopt administrative measures such as revoking an approval, removing a professional from the register, or imposing fines and penalty payments. This strong sanctioning power acts as a deterrent and incentivises professionals to comply with the rules at all times. For borrowers, it means an extra layer of security: if a lender or intermediary deviates from the legal framework, the FSMA can intervene swiftly to protect the integrity of the market.