The protesters presented their demands outside the building housing the State Presidency, the Central Bank and an office of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank which issued the most franc-indexed loans in the country.
Kemal Durakovic, president of a civil society association bringing together holders of loans indexed to the Swiss franc, said that more than 9,000 people were unable to repay their loans due to a drastic increase in the value of their installments, caused by the appreciation of the Swiss currency.
He said the association expected the relevant authorities to exert pressure on Hypo Alpe Adria Bank to make it possible for loan holders to repay the loan amount stated in their loan agreements, without having to pay exchange rate differences.
"We will insist on our demand that we pay off the loan amount and interest agreed in the contract," said Durakovic.
The protesters were not addressed by anyone, while the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday issued a statement, expressing regret at the loan-holders' situation but underlining that it had no powers to intervene in relations between commercial banks and their clients.
An optimal solution in this case would be an agreement between the banks and their clients, while having the matter decided by a court of law is the final solution, the central bank said.
Hypo Alpe Adria Bank previously cited rulings by Bosnian courts which found that the conclusion of contracts on loans pegged to the franc was in line with the law, noting that it was aware of its clients' problems and had therefore offered them various types of loan rescheduling.
Meanwhile, around 200 people gathered in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana on Saturday for a protest against the lack of action on the part of the government and the central bank regarding problems of holders of franc-indexed loans.
The protest was organised by the Franak interest group, which brings together 1,700 citizens. Its representatives said that in the previous years the central bank had not exercised its control functions or warned banks of the unlawful aspects of franc-pegged loans.
After protesting outside the parliament building, they proceeded to the central bank, outside of which they expressed their dissatisfaction with catcalls.
Around 10,000 Slovenians are believed to have taken franc-pegged loans, mostly in the period from 2003 and 2008. The total value of such loans exceeds one billion euros and the largest number was issued by Alpe Adria Bank.
The Franak association plans to prove before a court that such loan agreements are null and void, and they are supported in their efforts by the national consumer protection organisation DZP.
Members of the Croatian association of holders of franc-indexed loans today ended their protest march in Zagreb outside the Croatian National Bank, where they lit 1,000 candles.
The organisers of the protest said close to 1,000 people participated in the protest. According to unofficial police estimates, around 450 people took part in the protest march.
Judging by messages on the banners they were carrying, the protest brought together loan holders from the coastal cities of Split, Sibenik, Pula and Biograd, the northern region of Zagorje and other parts of the country.