PKO BP wants to increase market share in mortgages; CJEU ruling on WIBOR in mid ‘25 - CEO

Poland's largest lender by assets PKO BP has piloted a digital mortgage, wants its market share of new mortgage sales to not fall below 30 percent, the bank's CEO Szymon Midera announced. In his view, a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on WIBOR-based lending is possible in mid-2025.

The bank said on Thursday that it had piloted digital mortgages, a solution for mortgages that enables the process from the moment a customer is interested in a mortgage product to the signing of a loan agreement to be fully remote.

"In the coming months, we will be ready for all PKO BP customers to be able to apply for a mortgage completely remotely," Midera said.

He added that the bank currently has a share of around 25 percent in mortgage sales.

"We want to strengthen this position, not to fall below a 30 percent share of market mortgage sales," Midera pointed out.

Sales of housing loans by PKO BP in the second quarter amounted to PLN 4.7 billion (EUR 1.1 bln), up 41 percent year on year and down by 40 percent quarter on quarter.

Around 40 percent of mortgages are now at a periodic fixed rate.

The CEO reported that the bank is currently looking 'calmly' at the expected CJEU ruling on a WIBOR-based loan. The case concerns a PKO BP client.

"We are preparing for this process. We are working in full consultation with all the stakeholders that the CJEU will be asking for their position on the case in order to make it consistent," Midera said.

The Czestochowa District Court by order referred four questions to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling on the WIBOR rate in variable-rate mortgages.

"We estimate that the CJEU ruling will be around the middle of next year," Midera said.

PKO BP has around 300 lawsuits relating to PLN loans based on WIBOR rates and has so far won all the cases.

Mortgage borrowers' suits demanding the declaration of invalidity of WIBOR-based agreements or at least the removal of WIBOR as an element of the loan interest rate are reaching Polish courts.

According to July data from the Polish banking lobby ZBP, about 1,100 cases alleging WIBOR were pending in Polish courts and so far, there has been no final judgment negative for the bank.

seb/ ao/ nl/