In a recent decision, Athens Court vindicates borrowers in relation to lending in Swiss Francs, said a spokeswoman for LLPO Law Firm - Makris and Ioannides.

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“The Athens Court of First Instance accepted the request of our clients and issued a Court Order against the Bank, to reduce the amount of the installments paid by the borrowers to the Bank,” said the law firm.

The court ordered the borrowers to repay the installments at the EURCHF exchange rate that applied when the loan was started, rather than the current rate. The EURCHF rate was considered to be stable from 2004-2015, but when the Swiss National Bank depegged the rate from 1.20 CHF per EUR, things changed rapidly because the euro devalued considerably against the CHF. Someone earning a salary in Euros suddenly found their installments rising by up to 15% as the Swiss Franc soared.

This also applies to a large number of Cypriot borrowers who contracted in foreign currency loans, resulting with the balance of their loans to be much higher and are now requested to pay those sums in unimaginable high installments, said the law firm.

The lawyers have also raised similar cases in Cyprus and with the appropriate and proper handling, could affect the cases in Cyprus.

“Although the decision is based on Greek law, the issues raised have Europe-wide application and confirm a Europe-wide trend compared to differences between borrowers and Banks, in the highly debated issue of lending in foreign currency,” said the spokeswoman.

For more information on this subject, contact Mr. Theodoros Makris - Partner LLPO (Greece), Mr. Michalis Ioannides - Partner LLPO (Cyprus) and Mrs. Maria Angelides - Head of Banking Affairs Department LLPO (Cyprus).