BNP Paribas subsidiary fined maximum amount over Swiss franc loans
Keystone / Thibault Camus
The consumer credit subsidiary of French bank BNP Paribas was sentenced on appeal in Paris on Tuesday in the Helvet Immo case to a maximum fine of 187,500 euros (CHF180,900) for misleading commercial practices. It also needs to pay considerable damages.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA
BNP Paribas Personal Finance (BNPPF), known through its Cetelem brand, was once again found guilty of concealing the risks of its Helvet Immo Swiss franc loan, of which 4,600 contracts were signed in 2008-2009.
At first instance, the bank was fined the same amount on 26 February 2020 and ordered to immediately pay around €130 million in damages to the 2,500 or so borrowers who had brought a civil action.
For its part, the Court of Appeal found BNPPF “fully liable for the losses suffered” but did not specify the sums awarded to each borrower, as there were too many of them. It also postponed until April consideration of the cases of several hundred borrowers.
At issue in this case was the marketing in 2008 and 2009 of the Helvet Immo loan, designed for tax-free rental investment. The loan was denominated in Swiss francs but repayable in euros. However, in the wake of the financial crisis, the euro fell sharply against the Swiss currency and the amounts to be repaid soared, sometimes by more than 30%.
“What you can remember today is that you have won”, said the court of appeal in the corridor.
Swiss food giant Nestlé to invest millions in Nescafé in Spain
This content was published on
The Swiss multinational is to invest €15 million (CHF14.3 million) in its Nescafé factory, which produces instant coffee and Nescafé Dolce Gusto capsules, in Girona near Barcelona.
This content was published on
Malfunctions led to a worldwide outage of the social media platform X several times on Monday, affecting users in Switzerland and elsewhere.
This content was published on
The Swiss bank UBS was fined €75,000 (CHF71,410), the maximum penalty, in Paris on Monday for moral harassment by its French subsidiary of two whistleblowers.
Nearly 50 wolves killed in eastern Switzerland over five-month period
This content was published on
Wildlife wardens in the eastern canton of Graubünden, together with hunters, shot 48 wolves between September 2024 and January 2025, authorities said on Monday.
Top Swiss court approves appeal against asbestos ruling
This content was published on
The Glarus high court must re-examine an asbestos case, after the Federal Court approved the request for a revision of its decision by the family of Marcel Jann.
Swiss singer Zoë Më unveils song ‘Voyage’ for 2025 Eurovision contest
This content was published on
Singer-songwriter Zoë Më, who will represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, unveiled her ballad Voyage on Monday.
Switzerland’s image at stake in current multilateralism crisis, says Geneva politician
This content was published on
The Swiss government's reaction to the current crisis in multilateralism is not congruent with what is at stake for International Geneva, says the head of the Geneva Government.
This content was published on
At the stroke of 4am on Monday, the street lights went out in Basel's city center for the carnival kick-off, known as Morgenstreich.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.