Around 4,400 BNP Paribas customers could receive compensation.
The logo of BNP Paribas. (archive image) – keystone
Around 4,400 customers who have taken out Swiss franc mortgage loans from the major French bank BNP Paribas can hope for compensation. Following a court ruling in November, BNP Paribas has now reached an “amicable solution” with consumer advocates.
BNP Paribas Personal Finance has committed to offering customers of the “Helvet Immo” product a solution in the coming months, according to a statement from the French consumer protection organization CLCV (Consommation, Logement et Cadre de Vie) on Tuesday. According to an article in the newspaper “Le Parisien” from the beginning of the year, the major French bank could make compensation payments totaling up to 600 million euros.
Exchange rate risks are concealed
BNP Paribas’s lending subsidiary granted loans in Swiss francs in 2008 and 2009 that were repayable in euros. While Swiss franc interest rates were lower than interest rates on euro loans, the burden on borrowers skyrocketed due to the massive strengthening of the Swiss currency after the 2008 financial crisis.
In its ruling, the French judiciary came to the conclusion that the bank had concealed the high exchange rate risks of the product from customers in its offer. In November 2023, a Paris appeal court sentenced BNP Paribas Personal Finance to a fine of 187,500 euros and to pay damages to 2,500 customers amounting to around 130 million euros. It thus confirmed a first instance ruling from 2020. In November, the bank reserved the right to go to the Court of Cassation if necessary.
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2024-01-03 15:23:41
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