In response to a number of questions raised by a court in Barcelona on the IRPH (Reference Index for Mortgage Loans) index that is commonly used in the Spanish State, TJUE Attorney General Maciej Szpunar spoke. On Tuesday he made his conclusions on the index, pointing out that it cannot be guaranteed to be transparent because it is official. The Spanish State Attorney has opened the way for an investigation into whether this index is abusive or not. Szpunar’s words contradict the Spanish Supreme Court, which in 2017 endorsed the transparency of the consumer price index.

These conclusions are not binding, but the Court of Justice of the European Union usually acts in line with the Advocate General. The resolution will be known in the first quarter of 2020.

Hope for those affected

Szpunar did not say anything about whether or not the index should be considered null and void. However, the statements he has made are in favour of the particular interests that have been affected by the index. According to the parties concerned, the index was marketed with little transparency, with a significant increase in mortgages: EUR 25,000 more than they would pay on average if the Euribor were used.

Mortgages affected by the index must wait for the resolution to know whether they can legally change the mortgage, as well as recover the difference, total or partial, paid for not having Eurybor as a reference. Cases may need to be examined individually to determine whether the index is abusive or not. The decision as to whether or not the retroactive effect is also a matter for the judges.

The IRPH stakeholder platforms have welcomed the fact that the European Court of Justice’s attorney general has been “on the side of the affected” and “against the banking”.

According to investment bank Goldman Sachs, a resolution with a retroactive effect would result in bank losses of between EUR 7 billion and EUR 40 billion.