Croatian Court Fines Hypo Bank

-The Misdemeanor Court in Zagreb issued a verdict fining the first defendant, Hypo Alpe Adria bank, 80,000 kuna, and the second defendant, Tea Martinčić, a member of the bank's management board as the responsible person, 10,000 kuna, according to a statement from the Franak Association, which also published the entire verdict, reports the Patria News Agency.

The verdict found the bank and the responsible person guilty of failing to sign an annex to the loan agreement with the borrower by January 1, 2014, which, in accordance with the Consumer Credit Act, should have stipulated the parameter and fixed margin, as well as the periods for changing interest rates.

-They thereby committed an offense under Article 26 of the Consumer Credit Act and were fined based on the same article, which they are obliged to pay to the state budget, the verdict states.

-This verdict is yet another clear proof of how the 8 defendant banks operate and how they treat their clients, violating multiple laws and their business codes in the process, the Franak Association states.

They also commented on the announcements of rising loan installments for loans taken out in euros.

-These days, we are witnessing the "Euribor" affair that has surfaced, showing that borrowers with euro loans are also a vulnerable group. Banks, the Croatian National Bank, and the executive authorities are directly to blame because they exposed citizens to the high risk of Euribor and Libor growth in all loans, primarily because banks were allowed to independently determine fixed margins in existing loans.

In this way, banks have charged high fixed margins, putting all borrowers in an unfavorable position by calculating higher interest rates. Such earnings represent the banks' extra profit while simultaneously impoverishing Croatian citizens, they comment.

-The Franak Association once again calls on ALL BORROWERS with ALL existing loans where banks did not agree on a fixed margin and parameter with borrowers by January 1, 2014, to FILE criminal complaints against the banks, the Association urges.