Prime Minister: stress tests against stronger frank necessary

Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz has requested that the head of the Financial Supervision Authority conduct stress tests of Polish banks against the sudden strengthening of the Swiss frank, the president of the Economic Council Jan Krzysztof Bielecki said in a statement. On November 30, Switzerland will hold a referendum on whether the country should increase its minimum gold reserves up to 20 percent, from the current level of 8 percent. If the Swiss decide to do so, the Swiss frank will likely strengthen against the euro, because it will be perceived as safer that the European currency. This in turn will mean that all loans denominated in the Swiss frank will become more expensive. As many as 700,000 Poles have mortgage loans in the Swiss frank. Bielecki emphasized that there is currently no talk of any support package for Poles with mortgage loans in the Swiss frank.