DelfinGroup: PTAC Imposes Fines Without Doing Homework
DelfinGroup criticizes the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) for fining individual companies instead of implementing systemic changes in credit information. The company says it already voluntarily does what PTAC now demands.
Edgars Turlajs, head of the legal and compliance department at DelfinGroup, has expressed dissatisfaction with the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC), which he says penalizes individual companies in apparent test cases rather than introducing broader industry reforms.
In 2020, the company informed PTAC in writing that the Consumer Rights Protection Law (PTAL) does not require creditors to obtain information from all credit information bureaus. PTAC did not respond to this clarification for approximately five years, initiating a case against DelfinGroup in March 2025.
Meanwhile, DelfinGroup has actively urged PTAC and participated in discussions with the Ministry of Economics and other stakeholders over several years to improve PTAL, aiming to harmonize the use of credit bureau data for all market participants.
DelfinGroup emphasizes that before issuing a loan, it checks the person's credit history and income in accordance with PTAL. Income is verified via the State Revenue Service or bank statements, while credit obligations are compared with data from AS "CREFO Birojs". Since the end of September 2025, the company also obtains information from AS "Kredītinformācijas Birojs".
According to the company, there are significant differences in how lenders submit data: DelfinGroup provides and updates data to two bureaus within one business day, while others submit to only one bureau and take up to three days or even a month. Thus, PTAC's fine criticizes DelfinGroup for something it already does voluntarily.
To improve the system, DelfinGroup proposes two solutions: either require all creditors to submit data to all credit bureaus operating in Latvia, or create a centralized database under the Bank of Latvia that would consolidate credit history information from banks and other lenders. Until these shortcomings are addressed, fines on individual companies will remain cosmetic fixes.
