This legal action began in 2011 when OCU filed a lawsuit requesting that various clauses included in BBVA and Banco Popular contracts be declared null and void. This process resulted in the Commercial Court of Madrid No. 9 nullifying 22 clauses in its ruling issued on the 8th of September.

Subsequently, the Provincial Court of Madrid found 10 additional clauses from said contracts to be abusive as a result of the previous sentence.

Now, the Supreme court has ratified this decision, confirming the nullity of a total of 32 clauses.

Banco Popular forced to eliminate the so-called "floor clause" and return the excess amounts charged

Of special note is the fact that Banco Popular's so-called "floor clause" has been confirmed to be null and void even though this financial institution has systematically refused to eliminate said clause, arguing that the "floor clauses" included in its contracts are legal and comply with all transparency requirements.

Now, the Supreme Court has confirmed that this is not so and, moreover, has found that Banco Popular's "floor clause" does not meet the applicable transparency requirements.

For this reason, once notified of the ruling, Banco Popular must proceed to eliminate the "floor clause" from the contracts of all of its clients and, as OCU understands it, return the excess amounts charged at least after the 9th of May, 2013, in accordance with the criteria set by the Supreme Court.

Subsequently, if the Court of Justice of the European Union rules in favour of consumers with regard to the preliminary ruling presented and finds that all excess amounts resulting from the application of the "floor clauses" must be returned, it can require the reimbursement of the remainder of the amounts paid in excess.

OCU against the so-called "floor clauses"

Virtually all of the "floor clauses" do not meet the transparency requirements set by the Supreme Court. For this reason, they are being declared null and void in the various rulings issued by the Courts of First Instance or the Provincial Courts.

Despite this, banking institutions, except for those entities directly affected by the Supreme Court's ruling,  have refused to voluntarily and systematically stop applying the "floor clauses" included in their clients' contracts. They only do so in specific cases and when forced by court rulings.

Here at OCU, we are helping consumers to demand both the elimination of the "floor clause" from their contracts and the reimbursement of the excess amounts charged due to the application of said clause from the courts at a reasonable cost. For this purpose, we have made information regarding how to fight against the "floor clauses" available to affected individuals on our website.  http://www.ocu.org/dinero/hipotecas/informe/clausulas-suelo-ocu

For more information, please contact Eva Jiménez (media). Telephone: 917226061 prensa@ocu.org