The bankruptcy announced on July 20 by the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw in Warsaw significantly alters the situation for borrowers who took out loans in Swiss francs with this bank. Civil proceedings seeking the nullification of credit agreements and the refund of credit installments will be suspended by operation of law, and therefore, borrowers with Swiss franc loans will have to pursue their claims before the bankruptcy court and the bankruptcy estate's trustee. This entails numerous challenges and may lead to a lengthier process. The volume of Swiss franc loans in the bank is approximately PLN 9 billion, and there are over 10,000 cases involving borrowers with Swiss franc loans pending before the courts.

"Until now, the path was somewhat established both by the case law of the European Court of Justice and the Polish Supreme Court. Borrowers with Swiss franc loans sued the bank in the general courts, demanding the nullification of the Swiss franc agreements and the refund of the installments and other fees they have paid so far. After the bankruptcy declaration, the rules of the game are completely changing because civil proceedings in which borrowers with Swiss franc loans are claimants will be automatically suspended. This suspension will mean a halt to any proceedings, and at that point, the previous procedural effort must be redirected towards the bankruptcy proceedings," Bartosz Sierakowski, a legal counsel at Zimmerman Sierakowski and Partners, explained.

(Newseria)