Editorial 11 Mar 2014

With the arrival of spring and the federal, regional and European elections of 25 May 2014 fast approaching, we have noticed increased legislative activity. In this edition of bTTP, we focus on some of the highlights.

An act was recently passed to grant additional protection to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Indeed, since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, the Belgian government has taken a number of measures to help SMEs access credit. Pursuant to the Act of 21 December 2013, SMEs now have consumer-like protection. The new act makes it easier to for SMEs to make early repayments and limits or excludes penalties in this regard. In addition, a code of conduct on the know your customer principle was agreed in early 2014 based on the act.