[ad_1]
The decision bodes well for the many victims of loans in Swiss francs subscribed with BNP Paribas or Credit Agricole. While the public prosecutor has returned BNP Paribas to the Paris Criminal Court for the marketing of these loans, the Court of Cbadation confirms the unlawful nature of the clause imposing the repayment of a loan in foreign currency.
The Court of Cbadation firmly maintains its position! A little more than a year after having censored the BNP Paribas bank for its loan in Swiss francs, Helvet Immo, it confirms Crédit Agricole's civil liability for the same reasons. The high court has just given reason to the Metz Court of Appeal which had, on April 6, 2017, deemed illegal the clause imposing to repay a loan in foreign currency. This clause is included in a series of real estate loans contracted between 2008 and 2009. These loans, denominated in Swiss francs, could be repaid in euros. The bank changed these euros into Swiss currencies at each repayment monthly, so customers were able to pay foreign exchange and exchange fees. As the price of the Swiss franc has soared against that of the euro, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, borrowers' repayment burdens have exploded.
Illegal clause
The court of Metz's appeal had annulled the loan agreement by stating that "in domestic contracts, the clause obliging the debtor to pay in foreign currency [porte] infringed the legal tender of the currency. As a result, the bank alone bears the exchange loss as well as all conventional interest ". The Court of Cbadation validates this reasoning by recalling that when "the contract stipulates that the exchange risk is borne entirely by it [l’emprunteur] […]" we are faced with a clause imposing repayment in foreign currency. However, confirms the Court of Cbadation, this clause is unlawful.
This new series of decisions (the Court of Cbadation made 15 identical judgments on July 11, 2018) could encourage a number of victims to bring a civil suit in the criminal proceedings currently underway against BNP Paribas. The UFC-Que Choisir, which denounces since 2011 the scandal of these loans in Swiss francs has, for its part, already constituted civil party in this procedure. The badociation recalls that the damage of consumers it accompanies amounts to 150 000 euros. The hearing of this highly anticipated trial is scheduled for late 2018-early 2019.
Source link
