Floor clause complaint procedure

Mortgage loan agreements, when the borrower is a natural person/consumer (lending transaction awarded for a purpose other than commercial, business or professional purposes), that include a floor clause (minimum interest rate).

Customers included in the scope of application indicated above may file their claim before the SGCS, with a view to requesting the removal of the floor clause and a refund of any sums paid improperly, to which end Banca March, S.A. has a printed form available, which can be found both online or at any of our branches. The procedure is free of charge and consists of 4 parts, including the Submission, Acknowledgement of Receipt, Review or Analysis of the request by the SGCS and Resolution.

• Submission: The request can be filed at any of the bank's branches, or online via our website, having filled in the necessary details in the corresponding print out. For mortgage loans taken out by multiple borrowers, only one of the borrowers may file this request, although the right of all borrowers to receive sums will be recognised and if an agreement is reached, it must be signed by all of them. If more than one claim is filed in relation to a single mortgage, only the first shall be processed.
• Acknowledgement of receipt: Banca March, S.A. shall provide acknowledgement of receipt, using the same means used by the consumer, indicating the date and time at which the request was filed.
• Review or Analysis by the SGCS: Banca March, S.A., through the SGCS, will analyse the request filed to determine whether, at the bank's discretion, the refund of sums paid is applicable or not.
• Resolution: Within a maximum of 3 months, from the date on which the request is made (as reflected in the acknowledgement of receipt), the SGCS shall hand down a Resolution that shall be duly notified to the requester, containing one of the following decisions:
  • Reject the request, indicating the reasons underlying this decision, in which case the out-of-court claim shall be considered terminated.
  • Uphold the claim, informing the requester of the amount to be refunded, so that the requester can express their agreement or any reservations.
• Refund or payment method: Once the amount to be refunded has been agreed upon, the requester and Banca March, S.A. may agree on compensatory measures other than a refund in cash, or a combination of both. In any case, Banca March, S.A. shall provide sufficient and adequate information of the amount to be refunded, the compensatory measure and the economic value thereof, informing the consumer to this end and granting a period of 15 days to confirm their agreement.
• Formalisation of the Agreement: The Agreement must be signed by all mortgage holders. If any compensatory measure is included other than a refund in cash, the acceptance thereof must be reflected in writing, in a separate document and record kept of compliance with this measure in the aforementioned period of 15 days.
• Other causes for the Termination of the Procedure with no Agreement: In addition to the express response in writing from Banca March, S.A. rejecting the request, the Out-of-Court Procedure shall be considered terminated with no Agreement in the following cases:
  • A period of 3 months elapses from the Acknowledgement of Receipt with no response received by the claimant from Banca March, S.A.
  • If the consumer does not agree with the calculation of the amount to be refunded by Banca March, S.A., or rejects the amount offered.
  • If after a period of three months, Banca March, S.A. has not effectively provided the consumer with the amount offered.

La normativa actualmente en vigor sobre esta materia, en concreto sobre préstamos hipotecarios, es la Orden EHA/2899/2011, de 28 de octubre, de transparencia y protección del cliente de servicios bancarios, publicada en el BOE nº 261 de fecha 29 de octubre de 2011. Esta Orden fue desarrollada por la Circular 5/2012, de 27 de junio, del Banco de España, a entidades de crédito y proveedores de servicios de pago, sobre transparencia de los servicios bancarios y responsabilidad en la concesión de préstamos, publicada en el BOE nº 161, de 6 de julio de 2012.

Banca March, S.A. hereby informs customers opting into this procedure that the return of sums agreed may generate tax obligations. Final Provision One of Royal Law Decree 1/2017, introduces Additional Provision 45 to Law 35/2006, of 28 December on Personal Income Tax and the partial amendment of the Corporate Income Tax Law, the Non-Resident Law and the Wealth law, regulating the tax system applicable to amounts received as part of the refund of floor clauses.

While the out-of-court claim remains unresolved, the parties may not file any court or other out-of-court claim in relation to the same matter. Should such a claim be files before the termination of the procedure, the process would be suspended until the prior claim is resolved.

For court procedures in progress upon the entry into force of Royal Law Decree 1/2017, the parties, by mutual agreement, shall be subject to the out-of-court procedure indicated therein, requesting the suspension of the court proceedings.

The personal details provided by borrowers as part of the prior claim shall be included and processed in the files held by Banca March, S.A. with registered address at Avda. Alexandre Rosselló, 8 in Palma (07002 - Balearic Islands) with the sole purpose of handling and processing the claims. The borrowers may exercise their rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition in writing to the Floor Clause Management Service (SGCS) at Banca March, S.A., at the registered office indicated above.