By Rafal Wojciech Nowak
GDANSK (Reuters) -Commerzbank’s Polish unit mBank expects costs of legal risk related to Swiss franc loans to largely subside by the end of 2025, Deputy CEO Marek Lusztyn said on Thursday.
“With the maintenance of the jurisprudence line we currently see … we assume that the 2025 is the last year in which we will be talking to you in large numbers about Swiss franc write-offs,” Lusztyn said in a conference call, adding that mBank assumes the costs will steadily decrease until then.
These estimates echo earlier statements from mBank’s largest peer in Poland, PKO BP, which in mid-October said it wanted a resolution to the topic within two years.
In the 2000s and 2010s, many Poles were attracted to Swiss franc mortgages due to their lower interest rates, but the franc’s rise against the zloty and rate hikes in Switzerland since then have led to unexpectedly high repayments for clients.
From 2018, backed by Poland’s anti-monopoly office UOKIK and later EU courts, many of these clients initiated legal actions against banks, citing “abusive clauses” in their credit agreements.
Despite overwhelming courts, these actions have largely favoured borrowers, pressuring the banks to seek settlements.
As of Sept. 30, mBank had concluded 19,519 settlements with clients related to Swiss franc loans.
The number of new cases in the third quarter reached 1,259, 46% lower than in the same period in 2023, while the coverage of active CHF portfolio with created provisions for legal risk increased to 140%, mBank said in a presentation.
It saw a 10% reduction in the legal risk costs related to Swiss franc loans at 971 million zlotys in the quarter, slightly higher than its previous estimate of about 953 million zlotys.
Its net profit was 572.9 million zlotys in the same period, compared with a loss of 83 million zlotys last year. That exceeded analysts’ expectations for a profit of 476 million zlotys.
(Editing by Milla Nissi)
