Droit bancaire et financier en Belgique – Bank- en financieel recht in België
The Court of Cassation tightens the notion of gross negligence, without turning the bank into an automatic insurer against phishing. By a judgment of 29 June 2026, the Belgian Court of Cassation clarified the notion of gross negligence in phishing fraud. The decision undeniably raises the bar for banks that intend to leave the loss... Continue Reading →
The Antwerp Order of 26 May 2026 requires a bank to reimburse immediately a customer who has fallen victim to banking phishing. But what does it really say, and what should financial institutions take away from it?
The French Supreme Court confirms that when executing a transfer, a bank acts as a payment service provider and has no duty to advise or warn on investment risks. The bank’s role is limited to detecting apparent anomalies.
Brussels Court of Appeal (Dutch-speaking chamber), 27 January 2026 Can a bank terminate a credit relationship when its client has not yet been convicted of any criminal offence? The Brussels Court of Appeal (Dutch-speaking chamber) recently shed useful light on this question in a judgment of 27 January 2026. The decision arises in a setting... Continue Reading →
A decision by the Mons Court of Appeal[1] allowed us to review the notion of interruption of prescription, a fundamental principle in Belgian civil law. This case illustrates the rules applicable to the starting point of prescription and the conditions necessary to interrupt it. The Starting Point of Prescription in Belgian Law In contractual matters, the... Continue Reading →
The European Union Court annuls the Council's decisions on restrictive measures for peace in the Democratic Republic of The Congo due to lack of updated assessment and well-founded reasons for Mr. Kande and Mr. Boshab. The Council failed to provide an updated assessment of the applicants' situation and establish the validity of maintaining restrictive measures against them.
Discover how alternative compensation plans like Stock-Option Plans (SOP) and Hedged-Stock Option Plans (HESOP) can attract and retain employees. Understand the Belgian tax implications and legal considerations surrounding these plans.
Phishing and payment fraud are, unfortunately, thriving. Posing as trusted institutions in ever more convincing messages, fraudsters target banks and their customers in particular. Belgium’s financial ombudsman (Ombudsfin) has recorded a steep rise in payment-fraud complaints over recent years. This article sets out how Belgian law allocates the resulting losses between bank and customer. The... Continue Reading →
The U.S. Treasury has imposed new measures to heighten pressure on Russia, targeting its financial and technological access as well as individuals and entities supporting its military efforts. In a separate move, the U.S. has also sanctioned four individuals associated with ISIS, in collaboration with Türkiye. Violating these sanctions can lead to severe legal implications, with strict restrictions on transactions involving the sanctioned individuals.
May a bank be held liable when it refuses to grant a credit, or refuses to extend an existing one? The question matters to lawyers, bankers and in-house counsel alike. Freedom of contract is a fundamental principle of Belgian civil law. A bank is not obliged to finance every applicant. But can it abuse its... Continue Reading →
A bank that agrees to grant credit to a client is bound by certain obligations. Failure to meet these obligations may give rise to quasi-delictual civil liability. In the context of so-called “regulated” credit — such as mortgage loans and consumer credit, both of which are governed by Book VII of the Code of Economic... Continue Reading →
A demanding client. Mr "Borné" (a fictitious name; the key point is the accented "é" at the end) was a client of Bank X. In the bank's database, his name was recorded in capitals only, spelled "BORNE", as it was on his cheques, transfer forms and bank cards. The bank's IT system, built in the... Continue Reading →
EU restrictive measures, or EU sanctions, are essential tools in the EU's foreign policy arsenal, designed to promote peace, security, and human rights. However, these measures can significantly impact individuals, law firms, sanctioned banks, and businesses listed under these sanctions. Discover how EU sanctions work, the legal recourses available to those affected, and the crucial role banks play in compliance. Read on to understand the complexities of EU restrictive measures and how to navigate them effectively.
The aim of the EuGB Regulation is to facilitate further developing of the European market for green bonds while minimising disruption to existing green bond markets.
On 17 May 2023, new rules governing advertising for virtual currencies entered into force. They aim in particular to ensure that the risks linked to virtual currencies are sufficiently highlighted in such advertising. The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) oversees compliance. On 5 January 2023, the FSMA issued a regulation subjecting the marketing of... Continue Reading →
In an earlier post, we set out the bank's obligations when faced with a first demand guarantee. A recent Belgian appellate decision, discussed below, is also a useful reminder of the rules on governing law and jurisdiction in international banking law, as applied to bank guarantees. A decision on a manifestly abusive call on a... Continue Reading →
Our earlier articles set out the principles applicable to phishing. A consistent line of recent Belgian case law now applies those principles and has curbed the assumption — long held by many fraud victims — that a bank must automatically reimburse sums stolen through phishing. The picture that emerges from the last few years is... Continue Reading →
A growing number of businesses are seeing their bank accounts closed and struggling to open new ones. An Antwerp diamond dealer, a cleaning company, a hospitality business, an arms manufacturer, a company holding a stake in a hospital in the DRC, a crypto broker, a real-estate company bought by a Russian citizen: superficially they have... Continue Reading →
Interest rate swaps (IRS) are derivative products known as hedging instruments. In a rising-rate environment, they offer the opportunity to determine and fix future costs on a credit agreement. They can also prove to be a dangerous speculative instrument. This is a brief analysis of how they work and of the legal issues they raise... Continue Reading →
The issue The characterisation of insurance-based investment products raises several questions about the regulatory framework applicable to insurance intermediaries and their liability for breach of the duty to advise. In its judgment C-542/16 of 31 May 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that financial advice on the investment of capital, given... Continue Reading →
