Sejm sends bills on foreign currency credits to finance committee

On Thursday, the Sejm voted to refer a presidential draft law on foreign currency credits to its Committee on Public Finances. This was followed on Friday by a vote on a Nowoczesna party motion to reject the first draft laws on this matter submitted by Civic Platform (PO) and Kukiz’15. The Sejm voted overwhelmingly to reject the motion and to send these two bills to the Committee. The draft laws aim to normalize the situation in which exchange rate fluctuations and excessively high spreads have impacted installments on bank credits and increased the burden on borrowers. The presidential bill requires banks to return to their customers the difference between the allowable spread and the spread that the banks actually received. The Kukiz’15 bill aims to equalize PLN credits and foreign currency credits, so that Swiss franc credits will be treated as if they had been PLN credits from the beginning. The PO bill would enable borrowers to apply for conversion into PLN for mortgages denominated in foreign currencies, including the Swiss franc.