The market for loans denominated in Swiss Francs (CHF) caught a breather over the course of the last month, given the continuous drop of the Swiss Franc compared to the other currencies.
Between April 9th and May 9th 2013, the CHF-RON exchange rate saw drastic drops (approximately 0.2 RON), reaching a low on May 8th, (3.4975 RON) and a high of 3.6160 RON (April 9th).
In the beginning of 2005, the Swiss franc was trading at 2.5463 RON. Over time however, the Swiss currency saw a predominantly rising trend, between January 2005 - May 2013. The lowest rate was reached on August 11th, 2011, (4.0898 RON) after the high was reached three years earlier, on July 24th, 2007 (1.8741 RON).
This growth caused serious problems among Romanians who fell for the "mirage" of loans denominated in exotic currencies, such as Swiss francs or Japanese yen. Due to the increase of the non-performing loans, banks have introduced refinancing solutions or even cut the loan installments by up to 25%.
Still, the Swiss Franc has caused surprises on the international market as well, not just in Romania. On Friday, May 10th, the Swiss currency reached a 14-week low, against the Euro (1.2426 EUR/CHF at 10:21, on the New York market), down 1.8% over the similar period of the previous month and down 3.4% over the similar period of last year.
Throughout the last year, the high of a Swiss Franc, announced by the European Central Bank was reached on June 15th, 2012 (1.1973 EUR/CHF), while the low was reached at the end of January 2013 (1.2483 EUR/CHF).
There are multiple reasons behind the drop of the Swiss franc against the Euro. One of them would be the fact that the European currency seems to have been given a boost by the election of a new president and the appointment of a new prime minister in Italy, at the end of February, which have succeeded in eliminating
