In the absence of reasonable cause, a bank is obligated to grant credit to a customer.

An elderly man, accompanied by his grandson, arrived at the bank branch where his account is held to request a bank guarantee. The bank refused his request and even canceled his credit card due to a lack of sufficient collateral and because it was difficult to communicate with him and he seemed not to understand the significance of performing the operation.

The court dismissed the claim and ruled that the bank acted reasonably. The law states that when granting credit, the bank must assess the customer’s situation in good faith and in the customary manner, while taking reasonable precautions. In the absence of reasonable cause, the bank is obligated to grant the credit. However, the bank may terminate a payment services contract at any time and even immediately if exceptional circumstances justify this exist. Here, there was difficulty communicating with the account holder; he did not respond to questions asked regarding the nature of the requested action and even to questions aimed at understanding whether he was familiar with the time and place. The bank officials were under the impression that he did not understand the nature of the action being performed on his account and believed that there was a concern that his account would be emptied while being utilized. Therefore, the bank acted reasonably when it canceled the credit limit.