Spread returns to be twice as pricey as official calculations

According to Maciej Marcinowski, an analyst at Trigon Brokerage House,  PKO BP will pay the highest amount at PLN 1.55 billion.  mBank will have to return PLN 1.13 billion, Millenium PLN 801 million, BZ WBK PLN 709 million and Getin Noble PLN 679 million, as a result of the new law on loans taken in Swiss francs. According to  the authors of the law, the total cost of it should not exceed PLN 4 billion.  Marcinowski said "he estimates the total cost of spread return to be PLN 8 billion," twice as much . The same figures are predicted by ING Bank Śląski analysts, who also predict the total cost of loan conversions, another government project, to stand at PLN 10-15 billion. According to a draft bill announced on August 2, Poland will force banks to refund a portion of FX spread. The refunds will be limited to PLN 350,000 and will be calculated to allow banks to retain a 0.5 percent "fair" margin. Franc-borrowers will be eligible to get compensation up to the point in 2011, when a new law gave them rights to exchange currency outside their lender bank.