Loans in Swiss francs fuel the mortgage boom

The public have so far borrowed zł.7.1 billion and in Q1 the value of loans granted increased by 72% as compared to the same period of last year. "All foreigners, among whom the British constitute a majority, purchase real estate on credit. Their favorite currency if they borrow for more than a few years is the Swiss franc," said Dorota Kossowska from Open Finance. According to Wojciech Kwaśniak, the head of bank sector watchdog, banks are too aggressive in lending money in francs and they do not adequately inform about the potential risks. He stressed that if the currency suddenly rose in value, then some of the loan takers would be unable to repay their debt, which would negatively influence the whole financial sector. As of July the banks will have to implement a special procedure for assessing risk, which will force the banks to limit loans in francs, as risk in this currency will be assessed according to current value in złoty. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.