Top European court says homeowners in Spain can claim against banks if mortgage interest rates weren’t properly explained

Top European court says homeowners in Spain can claim against banks if mortgage interest rates weren’t properly explained

The European Court of Justice has given the green light to Spanish courts to rule against lenders if mortgages were sold using the ‘more complicated’ IRPH rate rather than the more usual Euribor. Around one million mortgage holders could benefit from the top court’s ruling as the IRPH rate (an average of market rates) didn’t drop as dramatically as the Euribor in recent years. The ECJ has upheld earlier judgements that say using the IRPH is only valid if the different way of calculating it is clearly explained in the contract. Spanish courts will now have to decide on a case by case basis if compensation is due from banks. FIND OUT […]

Door opened for a million ‘floor clause’ mortgages in Spain on ‘abusive’ IRPH rate to be cancelled

Door opened for a million ‘floor clause’ mortgages in Spain on ‘abusive’ IRPH rate to be cancelled

One of the top legal advisers in the European Union has said that about one million mortgages sold in Spain on a different type of rate to the standard Euribor can be subject to judicial review. The rate being questioned is known as the IRPH (mortgage loan reference index) and is an alternative offered to customers of banks when buying their property. It is a national average of the cost of mortgages over a period up to three years, meaning it is less variable than the standard Euribor. However, homeowners complain that while Euribor rates plummeted in recent years, the different way of calculating IRPH keeps their loans higher. Many […]

European Court wades into Spain’s mortgage crisis

European Court wades into Spain’s mortgage crisis

With a ruling that left both banks and consumers claiming victory, Europe’s highest court waded into a legal dispute in March over allegedly unfair home mortgage plans Spanish banks used during a housing boom that imploded with the 2008 financial crisis. The European Court of Justice found that clauses Spanish banks used in adjustable interest rate mortgages may have been abusive. But it stopped short of issuing a blanket rejection of the mortgages and told Spanish courts to examine them on a case-by-case basis to see if consumers clearly understood what they were signing up for. Some housing advocates called the ruling a win in their long-running campaign against banks […]