Implications of the Soaring Swiss Franc

The Swiss Franc has once more reached a record-high exchange rate against the Romanian Leu.

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România Internațional, 23.01.2015, 12:59

Banks, business people and politicians alike are looking for ways to overcome the difficult situation created by the sharp rise in the Swiss Franc, following the decision of the Swiss National Bank to lift the cap on its currency. Over 75 thousand Romanians have contracted loans in this currency and will have to pay considerably higher monthly instalments. Deputies with the Budget Committee are planning to discuss the issue with representatives of the banks and of the debtors in order to find solutions to the problem. Several proposals have been tabled, such as allowing the people who have contracted loans in this currency to swap them for national currency loans, at a currency exchange rate close to the one at the time when the loan was contracted, or rescheduling the repayment of loans.

Bankers, however, argue that passing an emergency ordinance to enforce these proposals is unfair and likely to bring financial institutions on the verge of bankruptcy. The crisis generated by the Swiss franc increase has gripped the whole Europe, with each sate trying to handle it in a different manner. In Hungary for instance, which has quickly converted Swiss Franc loans into domestic currency, there is a different policy for the Swiss Franc mortgages and for the loans for cars and other personal needs. However, Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta says this method cannot be applied in Romania. Victor Ponta:

“I don’t believe in the solution applied in Hungary, where the Swiss currency was converted into domestic currency in just one day. I believe that banks have the duty to better inform their clients and to bear some of the losses. I also believe that at a certain point we should come up with a system allowing bank customers to read their loan agreements several times before signing them, because it’s very difficult to help them afterwards.”

Romanian Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu does not think that an intervention from the Government or Parliament would be a good idea in this situation. A former businessman himself, Tariceanu says that in a market economy Parliament does not have the necessary tools to control prices, interest rates and exchange rates. The European Central Bank decided on Thursday to launch a government bond-buying program worth over 1 trillion euros to boost economic growth. The flood of money impressed markets as the euro went down to its minimum level against the US dollar in the past 11 years. Nevertheless, this decision brings more hope in the future of the European economies, at least for the time being.