Romanian clients suing Volksbank Romania demand the court to find Volksbank International AG accountable for the local branch
Romanian clients of Volksbank demanded the Court to find Volksbank International AG that owns 99.3384% of the local branch in Romania responsible for the acts of the branch in Romania. They ground their request on two similar cases of the European Court in which the main bank was accountable for any illegal behavior of the branch even though it did not participate directly to its actions.
There is a powerful judicial and economic link between the two companies that reveal that Volksbank Romania is subordinated to Volksbank International AG.
The request reads that the European Court of Justice considers, when banks breach competition laws or protection laws the main bank and its branch are considered one entity.
The consequence is that the main bank is responsible for the acts of the branch in Romania because the former coordinates the activity of the Romanian company. The request of the Volksbank clients who sued the bank therefore is for the court to find the main bank Volksbank International AG accountable for the acts of the Romanian branch.