Today the Council of Latvijas Banka has adopted amendments to the "Regulation for Electronic Information Exchange with Latvijas Banka" of 12 December 2013 (effective from 1 July 2015).
In compliance with the amendments to the Law "On Credit Register" the "Regulation for Electronic Information Exchange with Latvijas Banka" lays down the procedure for requesting and receiving the Credit Register data via a credit information bureau by a Credit Register participant (or a restricted Credit Register participant), who is a user of credit information within the meaning of the Law "On Credit Information Bureaus" and who requests and receives the Credit Register data via a credit information bureau.
The amendments provide an opportunity for a Credit Register participant to receive data in relation to the state programme under which the state provides assistance to households with respect to repaying loans granted for the purchase of residential premises or construction purposes.
The amendments also contain several other less significant changes establishing co-operation between Latvijas Banka and participants of the electronic information exchange process.
Amendments to the "Procedure for Management of Banknotes and Coins in Latvijas Banka" of 11 November 2013 (effective from 15 June 2015) have also been adopted today.
Changes have been introduced to the provisions relating to examination and replacement of suspicious and damaged euro banknotes and coins, taking account of the experience gained after Latvia's joining the euro area and by applying the respective Eurosystem provisions.
Furthermore, the conditions concerning the refusal to replace damaged euro banknotes and coins have been specified and next steps with regard to damaged banknotes and coins and those whose replacement is refused have been defined. It has been established that banknotes and coins unfit for circulation are not returned to the customer to avoid their re-entering into circulation and to prevent possible fraudulent practices. Activities involving banknotes and coins having signs of counterfeiting have also been specified.
The Board of Latvijas Banka will adopt a detailed procedure for replacement and examination of euro banknotes and coins by 15 June 2015. The procedure is expected to lay down criteria for identifying damaged and intentionally damaged banknotes and coins, conditions for replacement of damaged banknotes and coins, a procedure for assessing information received from a customer and other important information, as well as a decision-making procedure of the Commission for Examination of Banknotes and Coins and for Controlling Cash Processing of Latvijas Banka.