EU court rules on Poland's mortgage loans

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that a clause in a mortgage loan agreement containing a variable interest rate, such as Poland's WIBOR, does not create a significant imbalance between the parties, to the detriment of the consumer.

Established in 1952, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union aims to ensure that member states comply with obligations under the bloc's treaties. The top EU court also interprets EU law at the request of national courts.

Photo: EPA/JULIEN WARNAND

The CJEU's judgment was made in response to a request for a preliminary ruling from the Regional Court in Częstochowa, southern Poland.

The request was made on May 31, 2024 in proceedings between a consumer, and state-owned Bank PKO BP, concerning, first, the unenforceability or nullity of the term of a mortgage loan agreement relating to the determination of the variable interest rate and, second, the reimbursement of part of the sums paid by that consumer to that bank in performance of that agreement.

The consumer had signed a 20-year mortgage loan agreement in August 2019, borrowing over PLN 400,000 (EUR 94,910).

In his legal action, he demanded that the CJEU judge that the clause relating to the variable interest rate  (WIBOR) is unfair and thus not binding for him.

The Częstochowa court sought the CJEU's opinion on whether clauses relating to the WIBOR variable interest rate were indeed unfair, as the consumer had not been informed about how the rate is calculated, among other factors.

The CJEU ruled that in principle the unfair terms directive applies in this case.

TSUE: klauzula umowy zawierająca wskaźnik taki jak WIBOR nie powoduje, co do zasady, sama w sobie znaczącej nierównowagi między stronami na niekorzyść konsumenta#PAPInformacje pic.twitter.com/sgZYLqNeY4

— PAP (@PAPinformacje) February 12, 2026

National rules provide merely the general framework for the setting of such interest rates, leaving the entrepreneur the right to determine the contractual reference rate or a fixed margin to be added.

The clause in the agreement which sets the variable interest rate based on a benchmark such as WIBOR, may be examined under the unfair terms directive, the EU court said.

However, at the same time, the requirement of transparency put forward by the directive, does not require the bank to provide the consumer with detailed information on the methodology of the reference benchmark such as WIBOR, the CJEU ruled.

WIBOR is subject to extensive legal framework at EU level, with compliance ensured by national-level bodies.

Thus, as far as WIBOR is in line with this legal framework, a clause in the mortgage agreement which introduces WIBOR, in principle does not create a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations, to the detriment of the consumer, the CJEU said.

The EU court's ruling is an answer to a prejudicial question and does not constitute a judgment before the Polish court. The dispute will be resolved by a Polish court.

(pm)

Source: PAP, CJEU