Poland’s Consumer Authority Fines State-Owned Banks Over Credit Holiday Violations

Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has imposed significant financial penalties on two state-owned banks, Pekao and Pekao Bank Hipoteczny, for improperly applying provisions of the Credit Holiday Act. The law, which was in force from August 2022 until the end of last year, was designed to provide temporary relief to borrowers struggling with mortgage repayments. According to UOKiK, the banks’ practices resulted in less favorable conditions for consumers than those guaranteed by legislation.

The authority found that both institutions followed the same statutory procedure when handling applications for the suspension of loan installments. Problems arose mainly when borrowers submitted their requests in the final month of a given quarter. In such cases, the banks granted payment holidays only from the date the application was filed until the end of that month, rather than for the full month. Despite the shorter suspension period, however, the banks automatically extended the loan repayment schedules by an entire month.

UOKiK concluded that this mechanism may have increased the overall cost of loans, effectively placing an additional financial burden on consumers. The regulator argued that borrowers ended up repaying their loans for longer than justified by the actual duration of the payment suspension. UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny stated that the practice was applied systematically and exposed customers to unnecessary expenses, undermining the protective purpose of the credit holiday regulations.

As a result of the findings, Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA was fined PLN 117.8 million, while Pekao Bank Hipoteczny SA received a penalty of just over PLN 1.18 million. In addition to paying the fines, both banks have been ordered to inform affected customers about the violations identified by the authority.

The decision is not yet final, and the banks retain the right to challenge it in court. UOKiK emphasized that mortgage holidays were introduced as a support measure for borrowers, and any practices that dilute this protection constitute a breach of consumer rights.