Franc borrowers reduced bank funds by PLN 20 billion. The rising tide continues

In 2023, district and district courts in the first instance received a total of 90.2 thousand applications. cases concerning claims arising from bank contracts denominated/indexed to the Swiss franc, i.e. by 36%. more than in 2022. Moreover, last year the courts of first instance issued 60.9 thousand judgments in CHF loan cases, i.e. by 69.6%. more than in 2022.

Frankowicze flooded the courts with lawsuits

In 2024, the courts did not slow down. District courts concluded 35.6 thousand cases in the first half of the year. Swiss franc proceedings – an increase of 45.1%. compared to the same period in the previous year. Frankowicze have been on a roll for some time: they win 9 out of 10 proceedings. This encourages more borrowers to file lawsuits against banks.

Many disputes are “settled” outside the courtroom in the form of an agreement between the bank and the borrowers: “Rzeczpospolita” reports that only the seven largest listed banks concluded approx. 112.6 thousand loan agreements at the end of the third quarter. settlements.

How much did banks “lay out” as a result of lost cases?

“Rz” attempted to estimate how much the lost cases with Swiss franc borrowers have cost banks so far. The author of the text states that the task was not easy because banks are reluctant to share such information and do not show it directly in their reports. “Nevertheless, our analysis shows that so far (i.e. at the end of Q3 this year), former holders of CHF loans could have gained as much as approximately PLN 20 billion,” we read.

Most of this type of profits went to mBank customers. This is up to PLN 7.6 billion (the bank states that the total risk costs are approximately PLN 15.6 billion, which means it still has approximately PLN 8 billion in reserves for lost disputes). The bank has so far signed 19.5 thousand settlements, and the number of resolved court cases is 7.3 thousand, which is the largest number among the analyzed banks.

Okay. PLN 5 billion went to Swiss franc customers of PKO Bank Polski. His clients are more willing to conclude settlements – as many as 43.4 thousand of them have been recorded. Cost estimates for several other banks can be found in Friday’s “Rzeczpospolita”.

The number of Swiss franc cases will slowly decrease

Banks’ reserves for payments to borrowers are slowly running out. Due to the wave of lost cases, bank shareholders will lose because they will receive lower dividends, and, as “Rz” predicts, bank employees will also lose because their employers must look for savings. The budget will lose billions in the form of lower revenues due to lower income tax on banks. And who will benefit, apart from Swiss franc borrowers themselves? Law firms. Hundreds of lawyers have specialized in Swiss franc cases and earn much more from it than from divorce or inheritance disputes.

Rz’s interlocutors predict that in a few more quarters we will start to observe a decline in the dynamics of new cases being brought to courts and a smaller number of settlements. The reason will be simple: whoever wanted the dispute to be resolved has filed a lawsuit earlier, the reservoir of new disputes will be exhausted. If the Ministry of Justice does not want the so-called draft prepared a few days ago to be the franc law was written for himself and for the muses, he must make every effort to ensure that the regulations are adopted as soon as possible. The project is definitely overdue, much more good could have been achieved if it had been prepared earlier.

Franc Act: proposed acceleration of the procedure

What can we find in the document popularly known as the Swiss franc act? The draft Act on special solutions for the examination of cases relating to credit agreements concluded with consumers denominated or indexed to the Swiss franc and on amending certain acts provides for the following methods of accelerating the examination of Swiss franc cases:

• extending the possibility of adjudicating in closed session in both the first and second instance (regardless of the value of the subject matter of the complaint)

• possibility of hearing a witness remotely despite the party’s objection,

• possibility of receiving written testimony from witnesses and parties.

Prof. Marcin Dziurda, member of the Civil Law Codification Commission, assured in an interview with “Rz” that the project was prepared based on the demands of the judges, who constituted the majority of the problem team that developed the proposals in question.