Finance Minister Valcov: Rescheduling and bank-specific programs - solutions to address Swiss franc loans issue

Loan rescheduling and bank-specific conversion and appreciation offsetting programs are two solutions to the issue of Swiss franc loan holders, identified at the January 16 meeting of Finance Minister Darius Valcov with the leaders of the National Bank of Romania (BNR).

Photo credit: (c) Cristian NISTOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE
A certain bank that accounts for a considerable share of the aggregate Swiss franc loans has a program of its own and will proceed to the conversion of the loans into euro or lei ? depending on the customer's request ? and will then apply a discount to substantially reduce the rise of the Swiss franc or even fully offset it, the Finance Minister declared at the end of the meeting at the central bank headquarters.

The official also mentioned loan rescheduling according to Ordinance No. 64 of July 2014 as a solution which would address some 51 percent of the situations; he added that the scope of the normative act could be broadened to include as many as possible such borrowers.
"We had a highly useful discussion at the BNR headquarters, and we will continue talks next week. We are trying to identify in the first place where we stand and then see what solutions we have at hand to address in the longer term the issue for as many as possible holders of Swiss franc loans," Valcov said, adding that a precise analysis has shown that there are 75,412 such individual loan holders and six banks that account for more than 90 percent of the entire portfolio of such loans.

"A solution to this issue is in place since last July, when according to Ordinance No. 46/2014, the Government approved and supported the rescheduling of the loans of the individuals with incomes below a certain limit. This Ordinance will be referred to...