The Banking Law team at Martínez-Echevarría, which is part of the Civil Law Practice, is comprised of lawyers specialising in efficient dispute resolution, searching for possible settlement alternatives or, in other cases, seeking client satisfaction through the courts.
We have lawyers in our team with renowned experience in high courts, with an extensive success record before the judicial bodies by means of multiple favourable resolutions in different areas.
Our approach to matters in this department is broad and comprehensive. It includes advice on financial contracts, from the most traditional such as personal or commercial banking (loans, mortgages, leasing), to the most modern financing platforms (crowdfunding, crowdlending) or investment platforms, through blockchain technology (bitcoin, crowd-equity etc.); proposing legal solutions to financing projects (start-ups), and advising on the problems typical of Fintech that may arise from their execution, such as personal data protection and other cross-cutting areas.
In addition, the team's main strength lies in litigation, defending before the Courts of Justice disputes that cannot be resolved through alternative out-of-court settlement systems (such as arbitration or mediation). We have a high success rate in claims on the nullity of banking and/or financial products, on abusive clauses, such as minimum interest clauses (cláusulas suelo), unlawful commissions, mortgage loan reference index or IRPH, interest on arrears, anatocism or abusive capitalisation of interest, early maturity, usury or similar abusive or unfair practices. As well as the filing of claims for nullity or compensation for damages caused by complex and risky financial instruments (bonds, subordinated debt, derivatives or swaps), or for breach of securities market regulations (capital increase of Bankia, or Banco Popular, before its intervention or resolution). More recently, we have also been successful in claims relating to multi-currency mortgages as well as revolving credit cards or revolving credits.
The services of our department include the analysis of documentation without any obligation, and also comprise the defence in situations of difficulties to make payments, such as oppositions to foreclosures or enforcements of non-judicial titles (like loan or credit policies), with the aim of reaching solutions of compromise or agreement, asserting the rights of defence due to defects or flaws in the enforcement procedure (nullity of seizures, or auctions due to lack of notification of the balance, or similar), as well as the processing of mortgage novations or dations in payment in extreme cases of default in payment.