Post-ECJ Ruling, Clients Rush with Complaints as Banks Release New Data

Following the April ECJ ruling on the free-loan sanction, banks received approximately 6.6 thousand complaints, while courts issued nearly 1.5 thousand rulings, with the vast majority favoring the banking sector.

Complaints and Court Rulings After the ECJ Decision

Since the ECJ issued its April ruling regarding the free-loan sanction, banks have received a total of approximately 6.6 thousand complaints related to the application of the free-loan sanction, as reported to PAP Biznes by Agnieszka Wachnicka, Vice President of the Polish Bank Association.

During this period, courts have issued about 1.5 thousand rulings, nearly 80 percent of which were in favor of the banking sector.

Aggressive Campaigns by Law Firms

While a significant number of clients are filing complaints, not all of them will result in legal action being taken in court. Law firms are actively running an aggressive campaign pushing clients to go to court and reject any solutions proposed by banks.

Quarterly Sector Data and Pending Lawsuits

According to the latest quarterly data covering the entire banking sector, the total number of lawsuits concerning the free-loan sanction rose to 27,241 at the end of the first quarter, with 23,142 cases ongoing, compared to over 21 thousand ongoing cases at the end of 2025. The number of complaints at the end of March 2026 stood at 104,704.

Before the ECJ ruling, approximately 85 percent of court cases ended with a victory for the banking sector.

Judicial Line and Bank Adjustments

While it was expected that the ECJ ruling would influence domestic court jurisprudence to some extent, no sudden shift in the judicial line is currently visible.

On Tuesday, Alior Bank announced that adjustment to the April 23 ECJ ruling will reduce the bank’s net profit in the second quarter by PLN 96.5 million, as the previously used cash flow calculation model requires correction to align with the ECJ’s interpretation.

The adjustment concerns interest income resulting from the interpretation adopted by the ECJ, rather than the creation of additional provisions stemming from free-loan sanction lawsuits. Other banks are also expected to make interest income adjustments following the alignment of contracts with the ECJ ruling.

NBP Assessment on Financial Stability

In its June financial stability system report, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) assessed that the scale of potential future costs related to the free-loan sanction is highly uncertain, though it does not threaten the stability of banks.

Current write-downs in this area are very low and, assuming no changes in the jurisprudence of the courts, should not increase significantly. High uncertainty remains, heightened by the April 23, 2026 ECJ ruling, which may result in banks having to return interest on credited commissions in consumer loans in the future.

Sebastian Karbarczyk (PAP Biznes)

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