Polish Home Loans Risk Fresh Scrutiny After EU Court Opinion

Poland’s households should be allowed to contest mortgages tied to the interbank rate used to set the cost of most home loans, an adviser to the European Union’s top court said in a legal opinion that raises the prospect of a new wave of lawsuits for lenders.

Advocate General Laila Medina said local judges should be able to review loans based on the Wibor benchmark under EU consumer rules, to make sure borrowers were clearly informed of the risks and mechanics of the contract. Those assessments shouldn’t, however, bring into question the Wibor index itself and how it’s determined.