The Supreme Court has marked a before and after in personal loans by establishing when they can be considered usurious.
According to the recent ruling, a loan will be considered usurious if the interest applied exceeds the average market rate by more than six percentage points at the time of its contracting.
This criterion brings clarity to an area where there was previously great insecurity for consumers.
What this ruling means for those affected
The impact is direct: if a loan is declared usurious, the contract is void.
This implies that the client:
- You only have to return the borrowed money
- It does not pay interest or fees
- You can claim if you have overpaid
- It is one of the most relevant effects of the resolution.
How to know if your loan may be usury
To determine if a loan falls under this assumption, its APR must be compared with the average rate published by the Bank of Spain at the time of signing.
That average type (TEDR) serves as a reference to evaluate if the applied interest is “noticeably superior”.
The case that has marked the ruling
The Supreme Court's decision is based on a specific case: a loan of 10,500 euros with an APR of 16.61%.
At that time, the average market rate was 8.10%, which represented a difference of more than eight percentage points, clearly exceeding the established limit.
What consumers can do now
Financial user associations point out that this sentence opens the door to claims. Those affected by loans with high interest rates can request the nullity of the contract if that criterion of a difference of more than six points is met.
A failure that affects millions of loans
The growth of microcredits and consumer loans in Spain has been notable in recent years, with millions of annual operations.
This ruling may have a broad impact on the market, by establishing a clear criterion that affects both entities and consumers.