Francophone falls, trouble with repayment terms remains

PMR team

December 27, 2016

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Let us imagine that a person who has taken out a loan indexed in Swiss francs intends to declare consumer bankruptcy. The bank claims PLN 250 thousand on the list being drawn up. The amount results from the fact that the financial institution has terminated the loan and converted the client's entire liability at the current exchange rate.

And yet we can easily find court judgments (for example, in Szczecin, Łódź) stating that the bank has no right to recalculate the amount of the obligation when the loan is indexed in franc at the current exchange rate. To be clear: we can also easily find judgments going in the opposite direction. But if it were held that the bankrupt's claim should be recalculated in accordance with the court's instructions, its amount would fall to PLN 166,000 (instead of PLN 250,000).

What does this mean in practice?

For example, if the value of the flat, which the borrower disposes of under the bankruptcy declaration, is PLN 200 000, then a great deal depends on the method of conversion of the liability. In the favourable variant for the bankrupt - he does not have to repay his debts at all under the repayment plan. In the unfavourable variant - he still has to repay even PLN 50 thousand. The second variant, unfavourable for franking debtors, is commonly used by bankruptcy courts.

Two proceedings

Several borrowers have approached us with similar concerns. They feel cheated. They believe that, since the courts are increasingly taking the side of francophone borrowers in civil cases, there is no reason to forget about these rulings in bankruptcy proceedings. All the more so as the case will soon be one of the most significant in jurisprudence. After all, the number of bankrupt franking customers may be increasing.

The thing is, before someone decides to start insolvency proceedings, it is worthwhile for them to settle any disputed issues with the bank beforehand.

– Prawo upadłościowe nie przewiduje specjalnych procedur dotyczących upadłości konsumenckich ogłaszanych przez osoby, które zaciągnęły kredyt denominowany w walucie obcej – przyznaje Małgorzata Anisimowicz, doradca restrukturyzacyjny i wiceprezes zarządu PMR Restrukturyzacje SA.

At the same time, he points out that this can hardly be seen as a shortcoming of bankruptcy law itself. After all, it does not serve to resolve doubts between the parties to individual loan agreements.

- I believe that neither the task of the insolvency court nor of insolvency proceedings in general is a strictly civil analysis of the consumer's liability towards the bank. If someone questions how the amount of the liability was recalculated, they should do so earlier, in separate proceedings,' the expert stresses.

Mówiąc prosto: jeśli upadający kwestionuje metodę przeliczenia zobowiązania wobec banku z uwagi na dzień jego dokonania, powinien najpierw uzyskać korzystny dla siebie wyrok w sprawie rzeczywistej wysokości zobowiązania, a dopiero później wystąpić z wnioskiem o ogłoszenie upadłości. W przeciwnym razie sąd upadłościowy potraktuje go analogicznie do przedsiębiorcy, który prowadzi transgraniczną działalność. Czyli przeliczy wierzytelność po aktualnym kursie.