Helvet Immo case: "no intention to deceive", assures the Deputy CEO of BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas Personal Finance, known under the Cetelem brand, is retried for misleading commercial practice and concealment, suspected of having concealed the risks of loans baptized Helvet Immo, to the detriment of some 6.300 borrowers.

This loan intended for tax-free rental investment was denominated in Swiss francs, but repayable in euros – which then made it possible to have “the best market rate”, according to internal documents intended for the intermediaries who marketed it.

It ultimately proved toxic as, in the wake of the financial crisis, the Swiss franc soared against the euro and loan repayments soared for borrowers.

Patrick Miron de l'Espinay, voice of the company for this trial, is questioned about the loan offer then transmitted to the customers, the pages of which were projected on screens installed in the vast courtroom.

President Michèle Agi notes in particular that, to evoke the hypothesis of a fall in the euro and therefore of an increase in the capital remaining due, it was written: "the amortization of the capital will be slower and the possible part of unamortized capital (...) will be entered in the debit balance of your internal account in Swiss francs".

"Does that sound clear to you?" she asks.

"I find it quite clear," replies the legal representative, who affirms that the offer was intended to detail the "mechanisms" of the loan in a logical "sequential sequence", from paragraph to paragraph.

The court notes on several occasions that the words "exchange risk" never appear, points to the "long developments" of the document and questions the "clarity", for the borrower, of a possible increase in monthly payments.

"Very high level"

Another judge questions: "Everything is written in the same font size. At no time in bold, or in a box, do the risks and dangers of this loan appear, do you agree?"

"In the loan offer yes, there are titles, a font ... I can't tell you the opposite", loose the representative of the BNPPPF, who later argues that it was "indicated" that, if customers had "questions", it was necessary to "contact the bank".

"I can understand that on the first reading of this document, questions arise..." he said at the turn of an explanation.

"Even to the second!" then interrupts the president.

"Hence the importance of contacting a third party contact if we do not have all the answers," insists Mr. Miron de l'Espinay.

"I think it would take me several days to be sure I understood," says Advocate General Yves Micolet. "Do you think we are dealing with sufficiently clear information for an average consumer?"

“For the target that is targeted through these operations, for the average Helvet Immo borrower, (…) yes, this is suitable and understandable”, assures the representative.

"So I think that BNP's clients are of a very high level," quipped the Advocate General.

As an appendix to the offer, a simulation of the impact of a change in the interest rate was added from October 2008.

A document that went “beyond the legal obligations”, underlines the representative of the bank. But whose president questions the numerical bases at length.

Earlier, the current Deputy CEO of BNP Paribas and former boss of the subsidiary between 2008 and 2015, Thierry Laborde, was cited as a witness by the civil parties.

"I think there was never any intention to deceive anyone" on the part of the bank, "both among its employees and its managers," he said, ensuring that a such a "brutal" and "sustainable" fall in the euro was "totally unpredictable".

The trial is due to end on June 7.