The Franak association, a civil action group representing citizens burdened with loans pegged to the Swiss franc, on Tuesday filed charges with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office (DORH) against the Croatian National Bank (HNB) for failure to stop banks from unilaterally changing interest rates for tens of thousands of previously concluded loan agreements.
The coordinator of the association's legal team, Goran Aleksic, told the press that the central bank had thus committed "a crime of omission and a crime of incitement to crime," adding that it remained to be hoped that the government would take steps to improve the citizens' situation given that the HNB was "obviously an obstacle to the rule of law."
Instead of focusing on monetary policy and trying to ensure support for the Croatian economy through it, the HNB negates Croatian laws and the existing practice of the EU in the area of consumer protection only to secure excessive profits for commercial banks, the association said.
Franak said that it wanted the DORH to take appropriate legal action against the HNB's unlawful practice and expected Finance Minister Slavko Linic to put forward amendments to the Consumer Credit Act to ensure that bank operations complied with the Civil Obligations Act.
Franak and the Potrosac (Consumer) association have already taken legal action against eight commercial banks over Swiss-pegged loans and unilateral changes to interest rates.
