The bill sets that banks will grant a 15% discount of the value in lei following the conversion of the loan which is 50% guaranteed by the state, government sources told MEDIAFAX.
The government’s meeting agenda initially included a draft emergency ordinance which was subsequently turned into bill at the request of Prime Minister Victor Ponta. The bill will be further discussed in Parliament.
The bill includes the foreign currencies gaining over 50% against the leu since the granting of the respective loans. Banks are supposed to grant a 15% discount of the value in lei following the conversion of the loan which is 50% guaranteed by the state, the sources said.
Banks agreed in principle on the bill and the central bank’s approval is further expected.
End-January 2015, central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said the central bank agreed with burden–sharing solutions for people holding loans in Swiss francs and banks, but reasonable and balanced solutions, applied individually, considering that each case is different. Isarescu also said that converting Swiss franc loans into lei at the historical exchange rate would generate a loss of RON5.7 billion, or 0.8% of GDP, for banks that granted such loans.
According to central bank data, currently, there are around 75,000 debtors in Swiss francs, who were lured by the lower interest rates compared with most currencies.
The Swiss franc touched record highs on the Romanian market starting January 15, 2015, after gaining nearly 30% against the euro following the Swiss National Bank’s decision to scrap the minimum exchange rate ceiling against the euro.