Finance
Poland's PKO BP fined over loan terms, consumer watchdog says
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
PKO BP fined $22M by UOKiK for unclear loan terms in Poland. The bank used prohibited clauses allowing unilateral interest rate changes.
GDANSK, Poland, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Poland's largest lender PKO BP has been fined more than 79 million zlotys ($22 million) for using prohibited clauses in consumer loan agreements, competition and consumer protection office UOKiK said on Monday.
The clauses allowed the bank to unilaterally change the interest rate on renewable credit limits without providing clear, precise and verifiable conditions for the change, UOKiK said in a statement.
Specifically, the agreements did not state the criteria the bank would consider when changing the rate, giving it scope for arbitrary decisions, the regulator added.
"Clauses concerning changes in interest rates should be formulated in such a way that the consumer knows when and how the costs of the credit may change," UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny said in the statement.
The regulator said the prohibited clauses had been in use since December 2018.
UOKiK has ordered PKO to inform all affected customers about the decision and publish a statement on its website and social media channels. The bank can appeal the ruling.
PKO BP did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
($1 = 3.5515 zlotys)
(Reporting by Alicja Surdy, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
A consumer loan is a type of loan issued to individuals for personal use, typically for purchasing goods or services, and is usually repaid in installments.
A regulatory fine is a monetary penalty imposed by a regulatory authority on an organization for violating laws or regulations.
Interest rates represent the cost of borrowing money or the return on savings, expressed as a percentage of the principal amount.
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