The despair of Swiss franc loans holders reached its peak, so that 1,500 Romanians decided on Sunday to protest for four hours in Constitution Square, Agerpres informs. They are asking the authorities to intervene urgently and to convince banks to convert the CHF loans into national currency at historical exchange rate, plus maximum 20 percent.
The rally, organized by the Customers with CHF loans Group (of about 16,000 members) on Facebook, has brought together Romanians from Bacau, Braila, Constanta, Cluj, Sfantul Gheorghe, Harghita, Tulcea, Baia Mare, Slatina, Pitesti, Timisoara, Turda, Oradea, Iasi, Cluj Napoca and Galati.
“BNR + Banks + Customers = Culprits! Why we are the only penalized?”, “Bank= the usurer legalized by BNR and State”, “”Je Swiss indebted sold!” are just some of the messages that those with loans in Swiss francs show on placards. They demanded also the resignation of BNR governor Mugur Isarescu.
Banks customers require financial institutions to offer them the possibility to opt for the conversion of foreign currency loans in RON at the rate of signing contracts appreciated by more than 20 percent, regardless of the type of loan, mortgage or personal needs.
Also, they require to prohibit the bank to apply fees and additional guarantees as well as non-transparent costs and other expenses in the conversion process. Another claim is that the annual percentage rate (APR) for loan in RON do not exceed the APR previously applied.
On Friday, the Swiss franc reached a new high to RON 4.5817 units (up 1.5 percent), the sixth consecutive peak.