EU says Polish borrowers can make claims against banks

The EU top court advocate general said Polish borrowers with mortgages denominated to foreign currencies could make claims against banks.

The outstanding loans of around PLN 130 billion EUR 28 billion still pose a risk to the Polish banking sector as customers sue banks for damages in courts, even though Polish banks stopped offering FX-denominated mortgages in 2012. When the Polish national currency was strong, the FX loans were denominated to CHF, but later on the Swiss franc appreciated quickly, leaving customers with extensive debt to pay off.

After the annihilation of a mortgage loan agreement due to unfair terms, consumers can assert claims against banks that go beyond the reimbursement of monetary considerations, Michael Collins, advocate for the Court of Justice of the European Union CJEU, wrote an opinion on Thursday. In its final ruling, the CJEU doesn't have to follow the advocate general's opinions, though it usually does.

Collins said that it is a matter for national courts to determine whether consumers have the right to assert claims and to rule on their merits by reference to national law.

According to Collins, a bank is not entitled to assert against a consumer claim that goes beyond the reimbursement of the loan capital transferred and payment of default interest at the statutory rate from the date of the request for reimbursement.