The nightmare of Swiss franc loans is finally coming to an end. The first, final ruling in favor of clients has shown that Montenegro respects the rulings of the highest courts in the European Union, which was praised by the representative of the Croatian association Franak Goran Aleksić. However, what was completed in Croatia in 2018 is only now receiving a judicial epilogue in Montenegro.
"Around 70.000 lawsuits have been filed in Croatia, and according to estimates by the Franak association, over 15.000 people have been legally compensated so far, totaling 300 million euros. I estimate that banks owe around two billion euros in other lawsuits, and they will eventually have to return all of that to the people they robbed," Aleksić stated for Gradska TV, as reported by the gradski.me portal.
Aleksić emphasizes that the rulings of the European Court of Justice, which confirmed the nullity of currency clauses in Swiss francs, are binding on all members of the European Union, as well as Montenegro, which is on the path to membership.
"It is clear to me that the fight is more difficult in Montenegro because Montenegro is not part of the EU, whose Court of Justice has ruled in dozens of cases that the currency clause in Swiss francs is null and void. The rulings of the Court of Justice are binding on all courts in the EU, so every plaintiff in the EU can count on receiving compensation if they sue a bank. Banks offered such loans at a time when the Swiss franc was historically low and they knew that it would grow in the future, they just didn't know by how much. However, despite not knowing how much it would grow, they had to warn clients that it was a dangerous product, as the currency could grow overnight," Aleksić points out.
Currency clauses, Aleksić adds, were null and void from the beginning.
"The same reason for nullity exists in Montenegro, which is not part of the EU, because the law on obligations does not differ in any way from European Union law. It fully states that provisions prepared in advance later cause damage and are not valid for the client, they are null and void from the beginning of the contractual relationship. This is exactly what your court has ruled for the first time in a final and binding manner, thus enabling the bank client to receive compensation," Aleksić stated.
Aleksić expects that, after the first one, there will be a real tsunami of rulings in favor of clients who took out loans in Swiss francs in Montenegro.
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