My name is Maciej Wieczorkowski and I am a lawyer.
In my law firm, we help clients in disputes with banks. We will analyze your contract and help you remove the obligation to repay WIBOR as a component of the loan installment.
If you are a borrower or a zloty user, I assume that you hear the above sentences more and more often. There is more and more noise around the Warsaw Interbank Offered Rate benchmark. What are the reasons for this?
Let’s not hide it. The global situation matters. Higher inflation, which is fought by increasing interest rates, has a direct impact on the amount of loan installments. This is all because, strangely enough, in Poland loans are mainly offered based on a variable interest rate. Yes, it is possible to get a fixed interest rate. But only for 5 years… Thus, given the current situation in Poland, most zloty borrowers have been holding their heads for over a year. The installment is higher by 500/1000/2000. Delete as appropriate.
Meanwhile, when there is a crisis in most Polish homes, banks are doing very well. The problem is that it is probably again based on provisions that should be considered prohibited. Maybe it’s worth pressing the “check” button?
My law firm has many years of experience in disputes with banks. We operate throughout the country, mainly in Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot – the entire Tricity.
In matters with banks and other financial institutions, we provide services in connection with Swiss franc loans for Swiss franc borrowers and others.
Based on extensive knowledge and extensive experience, we will help you choose the best solution.
7 years of experience, dozens of positive opinions.
Free analysis and calculation of financial benefits.
We send the offer within 24 hours of receiving the documentation.
We help Swiss franc borrowers and serve clients from all over Poland.
Transparent contract, no hidden or additional costs.
The office is run by an attorney entered on the list of the District Bar Council
What is WIBOR anyway? Generally speaking, WIBOR is nothing more than a special indicator that informs about the interest rate on the interbank market.
Or simpler? The interest rate at which banks lend to each other. WIBOR, apart from being a variable indicator determining the interest rate on loans between banks, is also, in a way, a margin for the bank.
The WIBOR rate depends mainly on the interest rates, specifically the Lombard and deposit rates. These are dictated by the Monetary Policy Council. But not only. A factor that also influences the WIBOR rate is the rate set individually and daily by commercial banks.
Now that we know what our favorite benchmark is, what impact does it have on our interests? Why may WIBOR loan agreements be unfair?
When taking out a loan, the borrower is not solely responsible for the costs related to his own loan. The borrower also pays a margin related to WIBOR. Moreover, banks do not actually carry out money purchase transactions at the cost of this indicator. When obtaining funds, they are guided by the bank’s cost of maintaining deposits. This is indicated by the National Bank of Poland.
The latest reports show that WIBOR is only a manipulated value. Where did this information come from? In one of the borrowers’ lawsuits, the plaintiff argues that WIBOR is manipulated based on the whistleblower’s report. Additionally, the whistleblower’s report shows that WIBOR has not met EU requirements for years. To support his own words, the whistleblower states that the introduced bank tax did not affect the WIBOR indicator, even though the fee affects the value of money, and that WIBOR in some periods exceeded the Lombard rate set by the National Bank of Poland – and this, in turn, would mean that transactions between banks are higher interest rates than the cost of borrowing money from the central bank. So how could it be profitable for banks to borrow money from another bank at a higher interest rate than from the central bank? So far, it has not been possible to present evidence that fully supports bank manipulation, but if the courts support such arguments, it will be a revolutionary shock not only for borrowers and financing parties, but for the entire economy.
Once we know why WIBOR-based contracts may be defective, we should consider the possibilities.
What can you demand in a WIBOR claim? If I’m honest, in my opinion the question should be worded differently. The possibilities offered by civil proceedings are very wide. Formulating a claim is not a universal issue and will depend primarily on individual contracts and the actual situation of each borrower, e.g. depending on the level of loan repayment.
So the question should be – what will be best for you in a lawsuit over vibration? I will try to answer this question below.
Requesting the annulment of the PLN loan agreement with WIBOR is one of the solutions, albeit a risky one. Both factually and legally. But let’s start from the beginning.
The invalidation of the WIBOR loan agreement will have the same effect for the borrower as if the agreement had never been concluded by the parties. Therefore, the bank will be obliged to return all the money paid by the borrower, and in the case of the borrower, it will be necessary to return the loan received without interest, commission or additional fees.
The invalidation of the loan agreement with WIBOR is therefore associated with the obligation of mutual settlement between the parties to the agreement. Therefore, in a situation where you have repaid only a small part of the loan (because, for example, you concluded an agreement 4-5 years ago), the decision on the need to return the capital to the bank may be financially unfavorable for you. You will be faced with the need to return capital to the bank, which you may not actually have.
Additionally, in my opinion, such a solution is legally quite risky. According to case law, interest is a component of remuneration and is therefore one of the main benefits of the contract. The defectiveness of such a component may therefore lead to the invalidity of the entire contract. In my opinion, however, this type of solution will not find many supporters among judges…
The removal of WIBOR from the PLN loan agreement is becoming more and more real. This is also the most desirable solution.
Requesting the removal of a faulty indicator means that the bank will only be able to demand a margin in addition to the return of the borrowed capital. For example:
If your current interest rate is 8.89%, of which 6.89 is WIBOR and 2% is margin, when WIBOR is removed, your installment will be increased only by the margin. Effect? installment lower by 500/1000/2000 (delete inappropriate :))
Based on the general provisions of the Civil Code, it is also possible to request a change to the contract by removing WIBOR and introducing a fixed interest rate.
This type of solution is absolutely possible. However, it requires the following conditions to be met:
A change to the contract would only be possible if meeting your installments based on WIBOR would pose a risk of a significant loss or would be associated with excessive difficulties. This type of solution is possible if, in short, you have very big problems with repaying the installment in its current form.
The court will also apply this type of solution after considering the interests of the other party, i.e. the bank.
As a rule, some borrowers will be able to request a fixed interest rate in the contract.
If the topic titled You are particularly interested in the WIBOR lawsuit because you are a zloty user – please contact me. My law firm has many years of experience in disputes with banks. We operate in Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot – the entire Tricity and the entire country.
In matters with banks and other financial institutions, we provide services in connection with Swiss franc loans for Swiss franc borrowers and others.
Based on extensive knowledge and extensive experience, we will help you choose the best solution.
