• Raiffeisen Bank International unlawfully unilaterally amended the mortgage loan agreement with regard to new account numbers for repayment and servicing of loans.
• This action caused confusion among consumers, namely, they did not know which account to pay money into, and this resulted in delays in the repayment of instalments, and in some cases, the opening of debt collection proceedings against borrowers.
• The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) imposed a fine of over PLN 3.1 million on the bank.

In November 2018, Raiffeisen Bank Polska (RBP) was demerged. The so-called core business, i.e. savings and current accounts, was taken over by Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas (currently BNP Paribas Bank Polska). On the other hand, the mortgage business was still in place at Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) Branch in Poland. in the conditions for RBI’s operations in Poland, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority stipulated that the merger may not adversely affect the situation of borrowers, and the solutions applied in this regard must comply with applicable regulations and decisions of regulatory authorities in Poland (including but not limited to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection).

The bank demerger, however, created complications for holders of mortgage loans either indexed to or denominated in the Swiss franc. Previously, they had been serviced within one bank. On the basis of powers of attorney granted at the time of conclusion of the loan agreement, the bank automatically collected from the customer’s account the amount necessary to pay the instalment or other charges related to the loan. After the merger, the loan remained with RBI (the legal successor of RBP), while the account for its servicing was transferred to BNP Paribas.

Pursuant to the loan agreement, any amendments to it were to be made in writing or otherwise declared null and void. Meanwhile, in September and October 2018, Raiffeisen Bank International sent letters to borrowers. These letters contained information saying that after the merger, two new accounts opened in RBI would be appropriate to service loans – one in the currency of the loan to repay the instalments (with the customer having to convert them at the current exchange rate), and the other in Polish currency to pay insurance premiums and other fees. Therefore, the bank made a unilateral amendment to the mortgage agreements with consumers.

“Raiffeisen Bank International was not entitled to unilaterally amend loan agreements, especially when it comes to the method of loan repayment, which is a very important issue for consumers. Such amendments should have been made with the consent of both parties by way of an annex. Therefore, we concluded that the bank had misled consumers by disseminating false information about new accounts”, says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

Moreover, as numerous complaints revealed, RBI communicated this information to some consumers by ordinary letter or even by email. This information did not reach all consumers, and sometimes it did not contain the numbers of new accounts or the date from which the loan should be repaid in this way. All this caused confusion among customers – they did not know which account to pay money into. People who, in adherence to the agreement, continued to provide on their current account the amounts necessary to service the loan, received text messages informing them of their arrears as well as that the bank had opened debt collection proceedings against them.

“Consumers may not be affected by the adverse consequences of corporate transformations in the entrepreneur with whom they are bound by the agreement. Despite the change of party to the agreement, the other terms and conditions should remain unamended. Banks should take this aspect into account when agreeing upon the terms of the merger. However, since they failed to do so, they were obliged to amend the terms of the agreements in accordance with the law, namely by way of an annex agreed with the borrower”, says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

In consideration of violating collective consumer interests, the President of the Office imposed a fine of PLN 3,144,864 on Raiffeisen Bank International. the entrepreneur shall also inform consumers about the decision issued.

The decision is not final, and the entrepreneur has the right to appeal against this decision to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Consumer Support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 222 66 76 76 – consumer helpline
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Consumer Ombudsmen – in your town or district
Financial Ombudsman – when a complaint has been rejected by a financial institution
European Consumer Centre – +48 22 55 60 600 – in cross-border cases involving the EU, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom

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