Croatian court says eight banks over-charged on loans

A Croatian court ordered eight commercial banks on Thursday to recalculate loans indexed in Swiss francs in the national kuna currency at a fixed interest rate, saying they had overcharged loanholders. Four of the banks said they would appeal against the verdict, which local media portrayed as a victory for consumers whose rights the country's four-day-old membership of the European Union would enhance.
The other four banks, which are also expected to appeal, were not available for comment and the central bank, which regulates and monitors the banking system, declined to comment. The lawsuit was filed by Potrosac, a consumer protection group, on behalf of 100,000 citizens who had in the past decade taken loans pegged to the franc, three-quarters of them housing loans. The loans had been offered at a variable interest rate, at a time when the franc was relatively weak.