Status: 06/28/2021 10:57 a.m.
In the dispute over the high costs of early withdrawal from a real estate loan, the Federal Court of Justice confirmed an OLG ruling from the previous year. The judges are thus strengthening the rights of bank customers.
The early exit from a real estate loan is associated with high costs for the borrower. However, their calculation must be presented “clearly, concisely, understandably and precisely” by the banks. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now endorsed this conclusion of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court (OLG) in the dispute between a customer and Commerzbank.
In fact, the BGH rejected a non-admission complaint by the financial institution against the judgment of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court (Az .: XI ZR 320/20). “The BGH is actually following the decision of the OLG and considers further clarification of the matter to be unnecessary,” explained lawyer Marko Huth from the Berlin law firm Gansel, who won the OLG ruling against Commerzbank. With this, the lawyers see the position of borrowers strengthened.
Also important for other customers
The Frankfurt OLG came to the conclusion that the statements made by Commerzbank regarding the calculation of the compensation in the disputed loan agreement “did not meet the legal requirements”. The early repayment penalty was paid without any legal reason. There was no payment obligation (Ref .: 17 U 810/19). In this specific case, the borrower should pay Commerzbank EUR 21,500 to replace two loans. With such compensation, money houses secure – to put it simply – compensation for the fact that they miss out on interest income in the event of early termination of a loan agreement.
The ruling, which has now been confirmed by the BGH, is also important for customers of other banks, said lawyer Huth. Some institutes have revised forms, but these too are “still open to attack in some cases”. For many private individuals there is the option of avoiding a prepayment penalty. This applies to contracts from March 22, 2016. At the time, the legislature stipulated that banks must clearly instruct their customers about the so-called early repayment penalty, especially when it comes to construction financing.
The practice of compensation remains
Commerzbank did not want to comment on the subject. Last summer, their lawyers had stated that they were not convinced by the view of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court. According to an estimate by the Gansel law firm, which won the judgment, around 95,000 loan agreements at Commerzbank alone are directly affected by the judge’s ruling.
However, the practice of demanding compensation from the customer in the event of an early exit from a real estate loan has not been questioned by the courts. A bank has the right to demand “an appropriate early repayment penalty for the damage directly related to the early repayment”, according to the judgment of the OLG.