Surcharge on Euribor interest rate
Court ruling
In response to market conditions, we increased the Euribor surcharge for mortgages with the Euribor interest rate by 0.5% and 1% in 2009 and 2012 respectively. Some clients disagreed with this at the time and filed a lawsuit. On 22 November 2019, the Supreme Court overturned a previous judgment of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal and referred the case back to The Hague Court of Appeal, which issued its ruling on 11 October 2022.
The ruling
The Hague Court of Appeal ruled that the changes are valid and that ABN AMRO was authorised to make them. The way in which ABN AMRO made the changes is, according to the court, also permitted. This means that ABN AMRO was allowed to change the surcharge and that it was not raised excessively. The court also dismissed all other complaints by Stichting StopdeBanken.
Frequently Asked Questions about the settlement
I did not accept the personal offer. Can I be issued another offer?
No, if you initially opted not to accept the offer, the bank will not issue a new offer.
Can Stichting StopdeBanken still take the case to the Supreme Court?
Yes, Stichting StopdeBanken has 3 months to take the case to the Supreme Court.
Is this ruling relevant to me?
This ruling is relevant to you if:
- you took out a Euribor home mortgage with a variable Euribor surcharge between February 2005 and mid-March 2009 and
- you did not accept our previous settlement offer (in 2021/2022).
What should I do if I am one of the affected clients?
You do not need to do anything. We regret that we are caught up in a legal battle with our clients and realise that clients had hoped for the ruling to go the other way. The parties now have three months to decide whether or not to appeal to the Supreme Court, which is why there are no changes to the situation for you at this point.
When will I get a response from ABN AMRO?
If you have not accepted the settlement offer, you will receive a letter from us about the ruling as soon as possible.
I accepted the settlement offer. Does the ruling have any consequences for me?
No, nothing will change for you.
What was the settlement offer?
On 13 February 2020, an agreement was reached with Stichting Euribar regarding a settlement for clients with a mortgage with the Euribor interest rate. In this settlement, it was agreed that clients would be made an offer. More about the offer