Legal protection of users of financial services in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In recent years, the financial market of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been characterized by the expansion of financial services, especially retail lending services, which are offered by various methods and channels of advertising, and in most cases do not comply with regulations governing this area. This paper analyzes the financial market of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with special reference to legal regulations that should be in the function of protecting users of financial services. The financial market is innovative, it has a significant range of financial services, which brings numerous advantages and benefits, but at the same time carries hidden risks for users who, in the long run, become dependent and unprotected from the influence of financial institutions. The aim of this paper is to point out the most common problems faced by users of financial services in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the instruments of legal protection, because there is a huge gap between the declared conditions of use of financial services and realistically achievable rights of users in practice. Today, there are legal solutions regulating relations in the financial sector, but they have been adopted with a delay, thus there is a violation of the basic rights of users of financial services, and monopolistic, we can even say legally unfounded behavior of financial institutions, based on their power and inconsistency in the implementation of legal norms in practice and by authorized state institutions.

Keywords

• financial services
• banks
• consumer credit
• legal regulations
• user rights