The Council of Banking Employers in Romania (CPBR), the employers’ organization of the country’s banking sector, hereby publishes the following Open Letter to the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC):  

Dear Mr. President of the ANPC, Marius Alexandru Dunca,  

The Council of Banking Employers in Romania (CPBR) expresses its surprise in relation with certain interpretations contained in the Press Release* issued by the ANPC on 5 February 2015, in which you bring forward the following conclusion:  

“The increase in the value of CHF has immediate effects, which are beneficial to financial and banking institutions, while causing losses to consumers, so that we wish that immediate solutions be found by crediting institutions.” (CPBR translation)  

In relation to your conclusion presented above as well as other statements contained in the ANPC release, we hereby state the following:  

1. The part emphasized above by the CPBR in the text of the ANPC press release, in which you state that the appreciation of the Swiss franc against the domestic currency would ‘be beneficial to financial and banking institutions’, is a wrong interpretation of the real situation. In essence, this can be interpreted as nothing less than the fact that banks are getting richer on the back of their borrowers when the currencies in which they granted loans (euros, U.S. dollars, CHF etc.) rise against the leu (or the leu falls against foreign currencies), which is false.   

2. In order for banks to grant loans in foreign currencies, they are obliged according to National Bank of Romania regulations and internal risk procedures, to ensure financing in the very same currency (from deposits or interbank financing lines), with their assets and liabilities moving in the same direction, meaning that the impact of the exchange rate is non‐existent. Moreover, any payment by banks to cover their sources of financing occurs at market prices, and therefore accepting repayment of past loans at exchange rates different from the market would lead to significant losses for the banks.  

3. As concerns the appreciation of the different currencies, we hereby emphasize the fact that it is precisely the negative impact on the clients that have indebted themselves in currencies other than those in which they obtain their incomes, that determined the European Central Bank and the National Bank of Romania to include the evolution of the exchange rate among the well‐known “stress‐test” procedures.   

4. CPBR’s member banks that have granted loans in Swiss francs in the past are aware of the existing difficult situation following the appreciation of that currency. These banks have stated that they already started proposing individual, bilateral solutions depending on the situation of their clients and their own situation, under the existing conditions and in the spirit of national and European laws, norms and directives.   

Allow us to reiterate our availability, Mr. President, to explain any technical or practical aspects that could contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of banking markets, so that the public information exercise can take place with utmost objectivity.

The Board of Directors of the CPBR  

CPBR’s member banks are Banca Comerciala Romana, BRD  ‐ Groupe Societe Generale, Raiffeisen Bank, UniCredit‐Tiriac Bank, ING Bank Romania and Volksbank Romania. The six banks together own about half of total assets in Romania’s banking system, while their employees make more than a third of all employees in Romania’s banking sector.

* http://anpc.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=831:ce‐solutii‐ofera‐
bancile‐pentru‐clienti‐cu‐credite‐in‐chf&catid=23&Itemid=72

The Council of Banking Employers in Romania (CPBR) is led by Steven van Groningen - pictured (our note)