Three banks under UOKiK scrutiny over FX mortgages

The antitrust watchdog UOKiK has launched inquiries into Getting Noble Bank, Deutsche Bank and Raiffeisen Bank Polska FX rates setting policies, which UOKiK calls “unclear.” “They are imprecise, arbitrarily determined. Raiffeisen set their FX rates on ‘average intra-bank exchange rates,’ Deutsche Bank used the ‘average forex rates,’ while Getin Noble Bank and Raiffeisen based their setting policies on ’Reuters behind-the-paywall data,’” UOKiK said. Banks also refer consumers to the tables on which the FX rates are set, but do not specify when and how many times a day they will be developed and published. As a result, the borrower cannot self-assess the rate at which the bank will convert the installments, according to UOKiK. If found guilty, the banks could be fined to up to 10 percent of their turnover. Earlier this year UOKiK, launched similar inquiries into FX-rate setting policies of BGŻ BNP Paribas, BZ WBK and Bank Millennium.