Advocate General Anthony Michael Collins, an adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union, issued an opinion in which he said that "consumers may assert claims against banks that go beyond reimbursement of monetary consideration," while banks "may not" do so "after the annulment of a mortgage loan agreement due to unfair terms," Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Hundreds of thousands of Polish families took out foreign-currency mortgages up until around 2010.
The removal of a fixed exchange rate against the euro by the Swiss central bank meant that monthly installments for many Poles ballooned almost overnight, leaving them floundering financially.
Collins said in his opinion on Thursday that "the annulment of a mortgage loan agreement arises as a consequence of the bank having introduced an unfair term into that agreement."
He observed that "borrowers are generally not in a position to assess the amount a bank could claim from them before deciding whether it is in their interests to challenge the presence of unfair terms in their loan agreements."
While the advocate general's opinion is not binding, the Luxembourg-based court usually follows it when making its final ruling, according to officials.
Poland’s financial regulator said in 2019 that the country’s banking sector was well positioned to deal with the potential repercussions of a ruling by the EU’s top court on foreign-currency mortgages.
(gs)
Source: PAP, curia.europa.eu
