PAMPLONA – In an upcoming lawsuit, a court in Pamplona, Navarra, has ordered the ethical bank Triodos to repay €200,070 plus interest to a customer from Navarra.
This case marks a unique ruling against a bank known for its ethical and sustainable banking policies.
Wrong information about the risks
The customer was represented by the Reclama Triodos platform. In August 2016, he invested in 2,470 Certificados de Depósito de Acciones (CDA) from Triodos Bank. According to the complaint, the bank failed to provide information about the complexity and potential risks of this product. Originally, the bank promoted the product as safe and low risk due to internal market regulation and easy marketability. However, the 2020 pandemic changed this drastically, making the sale of these products virtually impossible.
Ethical bank with a setback
The client chose Triodos Bank because he was concerned about social issues and the bank’s good ethical reputation. Triodos shares, not listed on a secondary market, offered investors the opportunity to participate in the bank’s capital. However, following the outbreak of the pandemic, the internal and regulated sales market for these deposits was temporarily closed. This led to significant restrictions in the tradability of the shares.
Consequences for the customer
The client received dividends only twice and reinvested his returns. Consequently, he was faced with the temporary closure of the internal market in March 2020 and a later closure in January 2021. Triodos Bank subsequently changed the way its shares were traded, making it dependent on supply and demand in a multilateral trading system. This led to a significant devaluation of the shares.
‘Bank fails in its obligation to provide information’
The court ruled that Triodos Bank failed to provide adequate information and fulfill its duty of care. Especially given the asymmetry in information between the bank and the customer. The changes in the essential terms of the contract, from dependence on bank results to a supply and demand-based value, and the transition to a different trading system had a direct impact on the liquidity of the product and the lack of interested buyers.
Aftermath
With this ruling, the judge emphasises the responsibilities of financial institutions to fully and transparently inform their customers about the risks associated with their investment products. The same applies to those with an ethical and sustainable image. For the customer, this all meant a difficult period in which he had to take out personal and mortgage loans for liquidity.
