Slightly below 10,000 debtors in the country have taken out loans indexed in the Swiss national currency, and they are now in big trouble just like other holders of mortgages indexed in the franc throughout Europe after a rapid double-digit appreciation as a result of the Swiss national bank's recent decision to remove the cap on the franc-euro exchange rate.
Kozaric today held talks with representatives of the "Svicarac" association of debtors whose loans are tied to the Swiss currency.
The governor believes that the solution might be converting the borrowing into euro-pegged loans at the exchange rate valid on the date when loan contracts were signed.
However, Bosnia's central bank at the state level has no powers to intervene with commercial banks, as their operations are regulated by laws adopted at the level of the country's two entities: the Croat-Muslim federation and the Serb republic.
Kozaric's statement can be interpreted as a recommendation which banks may heed but are not bound to implement.
A "Svicarac" group activist, Kemal Durakovic, announced mass-scale lawsuits by debtors if the Hypo bank, which has the highest number of such credits in Bosnia, turns down the loan conversion proposal.