The courts estimate the 90% of lawsuits for financial products
The former member of the General Council of the Judiciary and magistrate on leave, Agustín Azparren, has calculated that currently 90% of claims for complex financial products such as swaps or preferential ones are estimated by the courts, compared to an average of 75% in the other types of demands.
Furthermore, he added that in the case of floor clauses it is very difficult for "citizens to file a complaint against a bank", and that, for this reason, It is really difficult to calculate the exact number of people affected.
Azparren recalled that "the judge has no choice but to act to protect the consumer, because the Constitution and European laws ask him to do so." The judge on leave, who participated in the second day of the meeting «Current problems of Consumer Law» organized by the UIMP with the sponsorship of the Government of Cantabria, has stressed that "the bank and the client are in a different position", and that, "since these are adhesion contracts, there is no possibility of negotiating."
For this reason, he recalled that the obligation of the banks is to "exhaustively inform everything" and that when this fails the agreement is annulled: "All that is normally discussed in the courts is whether there is sufficient information or what the profile of the client, to know if the contracts are in adequate and understandable language", has stood out.
As a possible alternative to the courts, Azparren has proposed "a combined system of arbitration with prior mediation" that would allow judges to be relieved of their workload. In the opinion of the former member of the governing body of the judges, «it can be a more satisfactory solution for any banking client because it is resolved in less time, with lower economic cost and is a health saving. Furthermore, he added that "for banking entities it represents an image improvement."
Fountain: Legaltoday.com