BNP Paribas loses franc loan case at French court

Bloomberg

BNP Paribas SA’s personal finance unit lost a case at France’s highest court in its dispute over swiss-franc mortgages marketed between 2008 and 2009.
France’s Cour de Cassation said that the bank had not given enough information to its customers about the loans’ mechanism, according to the decision that partially overturned an earlier ruling. The loans, which were denominated in Swiss francs but
redeemable in euros, saw repayments shoot up when the Swiss currency became a haven after the 2008 financial crisis.
The Paris-based bank has faced a number of adverse rulings related to the loans, known as “Helvet Immo,” sold to about 4,600 clients representing 800 million euros ($891 million).
Last year, the EU Court of Justice ruled that banks can’t tie consumers to strict repayment limits for foreign-currency loans that include unfair terms. In 2020, the lender was ordered to pay 127 million euros to clients after being charged in France for misleading marketing practices.
“We take note of the decisions,”a spokeswoman for BNP Paribas Personal Finance said. “It is up to the referring courts to apply them in the different affairs they are treating.”
The decision said that the customers’ complaints were not subject to statute of limitations, allowing other loan takers to bring their individual matters to the French courts.
About 2,600 concerned loan takers are suing the bank on these loans, Charles Constantin-Vallet, a lawyer for the victims told Bloomberg. BNP Paribas may eventually have to pay them around 250 million euros in compensation, though the total compensation could be much higher if other victims decide to go to court, he said.