Mortgage loans still without a uniform agreement. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has given up and the banks are waiting
In Poland, there were two initiatives aimed at introducing a standard housing loan agreement, i.e. a large and long obligation amounting to hundreds of thousands of zlotys and lasting up to 20-30 years, in order to, on the one hand, protect customers against unfair terms and, on the other, reduce the legal risk of banks. As a result, both sides were supposed to win, because lower risk means the possibility of reducing margins, which would benefit borrowers.
One of the solutions is to be a model housing loan agreement, which was developed by experts of the European Financial Congress (EKF) under the supervision of prof. Michał Romanowski. Its final shape was presented at the beginning of December 2025 and is to be used as part of good practice.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection had a different approach, working on its own uniform template for a housing loan agreement. It was to be introduced as an annex to the Mortgage Loan Act and banks would have a legal obligation to apply it. This version provided, among other things, mandatory fixed interest rate valid for a minimum of five years.
See also: The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is getting closer to a uniform housing loan agreement. This will be a breakthrough
However, according to information from Business Insider, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has abandoned its work in this area and is no longer applying for entry into the government's list of legislative works. In its official response, the Office informed us that the application submitted a few months ago had been returned to it by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, and the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection had not received authorization to conduct legislative work.
“The Chancellery of the Prime Minister indicated that it would be premature at this stage and that the Minister of Justice should play a key role in further work.” – UOKiK replied to our question.
Later, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection turned to the Minister of Justice on this matter. “The Minister informed that he would not take on the role of the leading institution in the work on the statutory template of the housing loan agreement pointed to legal risks, including the potential risk of liability for damages of the State Treasury in the event of discrepancies between the normative model and future CJEU case law. The Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and the Financial Ombudsman also raised objections to this concept. In practice, this meant the government's lack of support for the proposal to legislate issues important to consumers and the market” – said the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
“The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection views initiatives aimed at organizing the relationship between the lender and the borrower positively, provided that they do not aim to worsen the situation of consumers. We maintain the assessment that a statutory solution – enabling reliable public consultations – would best serve both consumer protection and limiting legal risks on the part of the banking sector,” the Office said.
Offices critically comment on the draft uniform mortgage template
The Ministry of Justice responded to our questions about the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection's proposal that the proposed introduction of two mandatory templates of mortgage loan agreements with a periodically fixed interest rate raises significant legal concerns, including those of a systemic nature.
“This solution may involve the risk of liability for damages of the State Treasury (Article 4171 Civil Code) in a situation where it is found that contracts based on these templates contain prohibited provisions – in the light of the provisions on the protection of consumer rights, which in certain situations may result in their invalidity in whole or in part,” the Ministry of Justice indicated.
Additionally, he assessed that the introduction of this type of templates would mean the need to constantly update them, taking into account changes in legal provisions and the achievements of national and European jurisprudence. It was added that the mandatory nature of the solution, which may be contrary to the principle of freedom of contract, also raises concerns.
“Consequently, the Ministry of Justice did not share the position of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection as to the validity of introducing the solution in question. The Ministry of Finance, the chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and the Financial Ombudsman also took a negative position regarding the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection's proposal,” added the Ministry of Justice.
Banks with a model agreement
Borrowers can therefore count on the banks implementing the model mortgage agreement themselves. It is not compulsory because there is no law, so it is not known whether it will actually happen. Market mechanisms may come into play. — Good practices are often called “soft law”, but it is still law – argued in an interview for Business Insider prof. Michal Romanowski.
— It looks like the model contract will be implemented. I don't see any reasons that would prevent this. Operational work on the customer information manual is still in progresswhich he would sign before concluding a loan agreement with the bank. This is a response to the arguments that the legal risk applies not only to possible provisions that are prohibited in contracts, but also to information obligations. The material we are working on will indicate how to inform a client applying for a loan, says Prof. Leszek Pawłowicz, EKF coordinator.
See also: Loans in Poland may have lower interest rates. Here are ten ways to do it
We have received unofficial information that some banks would like the agreement to be more legally binding (e.g. through a “compromise” solution, i.e. through a minister's regulation), and some banks also indicated that the December position of the Financial Stability Committee (FSC) regarding the model agreement was unsatisfactory.
In December 2025, the FSC said it had discussed the legal risks associated with its housing loan portfolio. In the context of PLN mortgages, attention was paid to the ongoing work on a model mortgage loan agreement. “The Committee views this initiative positively as a factor that may increase legal security for both parties to the contract and thus promote financial stability“, KSF said in a statement.
— The KSF generally does not provide opinions on this type of initiatives. The mention presented in the December announcement was a kind of exception and it is positive information for the draft model housing loan agreement – emphasizes Prof. Pawłowicz.
The EKF project received positive comments from representatives of, among others: the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Ombudsman, the Bank Guarantee Fund and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection does not intend to issue an opinion on it.
“We have not and do not intend to express an opinion on the proposal prepared by the banking sector and the EKF team, but the information we have shows that it differs significantly from the concept presented by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. In our opinion, a solution based on self-regulation does not provide such strong guarantees of uniformity, durability and legal certainty as a statutory solution,” replied the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
PKO BP is to pave the way. Will others follow?
— The president of PKO BP declared that his bank would introduce a model mortgage agreement, and I heard from two other institutions that they also intend to do so. I assume that most large banks will follow PKO BP. If the bank is wondering whether it is better to use a model contract created by its own legal department and expose itself to the risk of undermining the contracts, or to use a model contract developed by authorities and with the support of the KSF, the choice seems simple to me, says Prof. Leszek Pawłowicz.
The market's eyes are focused on PKO BP, because it is by far the largest bank, with 25-30 percent. in new mortgage sales, is controlled by the State Treasury, and in addition, President Szymon Midera has repeatedly announced that his institution intends to use a model agreement. However, this has not happened yet.
PKO BP he replied that he was preparing for implementation. “We are analyzing what changes are needed in our processes and systems to make everything work smoothly. The implementation of such a pattern is our priority. We believe that this solution will increase transparency and organize the rules of cooperation with clients. It will reduce ambiguities in contract provisions, reduce the risk of disputes and improve legal security,” the bank said. He added that the model agreement also means greater stability and consistency on the market, but only if it is constantly updated in the changing environment.
See also: There is an idea to reduce mortgage loan margins. Experts show solutions
“The issue of standardization of mortgage loan agreements is the subject of analysis in the entire banking sector, including in our bank. We treat the draft of a model mortgage loan agreement as an important point of reference in the discussion on further increasing the transparency of agreements. We analyze its assumptions in the context of regulations, the specificity of the products offered and customer interests,” he said. Bank Pekao. He added that what is of key importance to him is the consistency of possible solutions with the regulatory environment and the position of supervisory institutions, so that the standards developed are sustainable and market-responsible.
mBank replied that it had not yet decided to implement the model contract. “We are observing the market and possible further actions on the part of entities working on the model agreement projects,” he pointed out. He gave a similar answer BNP Paribasindicating that it is analyzing this solution and monitoring its development, market and regulatory environment.
Author: Maciej Rudke, journalist of Business Insider Polska
