Delayed cancellation approval and faltering construction financing
DSL Bank‘s technical problems are becoming more than a mere nuisance to its customers, with the bank coming under increasing pressure due to delays in granting cancellation approvals and faltering construction financing.
For the bank’s affected customers who chose DSL Bank to assist them with their real estate financing needs, the delays are becoming a real problem. Without cancellation approval, it becomes impossible, for example, to finalize planned house sales or to pay tradesmen’s bills because the bank will not release funds even though they have been approved. This has resulted in delays to building projects, an outcome which is not only nerve-wracking for the customers of the former Postbank subsidiary but which can also be expensive. That being said, they may be entitled to claim damages, notes commercial law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, whose practice includes banking law.
BaFin intervenes
Postbank and its real estate subsidiary DSL Bank were taken over by Deutsche Bank some time ago. Problems have been surfacing for months now due to the IT changeover. These are said to be the main reasons for the massive delays. The problems have reached a point where Germany’s federal financial supervisory authority – the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, or simply “BaFin” for short – is already in the picture, with the supervisory authority having appointed a special representative for Deutsche Bank back in September of 2023 to ensure that Postbank and DSL Bank resolve their technical problems as soon as possible.
However, this has not yet fixed the problems, which means pressure continues to mount on affected customers who need the approved funds to be paid out now and not in a few weeks or months so that they can resume their building projects and pay tradesmen. Any delays to a building project can potentially result in additional costs.
Delayed cancellation approval
Another problem is the issue of cancellation approvals. Customers who have been affected by this issue have had to wait months in some instances. Without cancellation approval, a planned house sale cannot go ahead and parties who were once interested may drop out in search of other properties to buy. This can lead to financial losses for those affected, e.g., through additional interest payments or because the equity required for another construction project is missing. Buyers can also get into difficulties because they may have already cancelled their tenancy agreement but cannot move into the house they have purchased without first obtaining cancellation approval.
Customers of DSL Bank who have been affected by all of this can reach out to an attorney who is well-versed in banking law.
The team at MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte advises on banking law. Get in contact with us today!
