An agreement was reached between the BNP Paribas bank and the consumer protection association CLCV in the context of the Helvet Immo affair. This referred to an extremely risky loan offered by the leading European bank in 2008 and 2009. This, offered in Swiss francs, could be repaid in euros with a more attractive interest rate. The problem: from 2010, the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone, and the interventions of the Swiss Central Bank on its exchange rate, made the monthly payments of loan customers extremely expensive to repay. The subscribers therefore chose to defend themselves.
Legal action brought by injured customers
Of the 4,655 loan customers – who subscribed for a total amount of 770 million euros – half of the borrowers launched criminal action in 2015, traces The Parisian on January 1, 2024. The following year, the CLCV initiated a group action. A civil complaint was also filed in 2017 for “unfair clauses”. In September 2020, the subsidiary of the bank which offered this loan, Personal Finance, was convicted for the first time by the Paris Court of Appeal for “deceptive commercial practice” and “concealment”. In 2023, the court of appeal reiterates its judgment and condemns BNP Paribas to a fine of 187,500 euros and 200 million euros in damages.
The civil component should take place before the end of 2024 but the bank has taken the lead by concluding an agreement with the civil parties. This provides the cancellation of the loan – for an average amount of 130,000 euros – and compensation for customers which could reach between 400 and 600 million euros. Contacted by The Parisianthe bank’s management declared that “this agreement is a continuation of the actions carried out by Personal Finance to offer solutions adapted to each situation.” However, the amounts involved are unprecedented, our colleagues point out.