Another kind of protest: Romanian pays part of Swiss Franc loan installment with coins

A Romanian from Timisoara, western Romania, paid part of a loan installment with coins, as a sign of protest. Narcis Semeniuc has two loans in Swiss Francs at different banks, for which it pays monthly installments of CHF 780. On Tuesday, February 3, the Romanian paid part of an installment with coins of 10 and 50 Romanian bani, as a sign of protest against rate appreciation, reports local Mediafax. The coins, with a total value of RON 350 (some EUR 80), had a weight of 5 kg. Three bank employees counted the coins for about 40 minutes. Semeniuc’s loans have a total value of CHF 100,000. The monthly installment for the two loans is CHF 780, double the amount paid when he took the loans.This was due to the steep appreciation of the Swiss Franc in recent weeks. Under these circumstances, the man had to sell personal objects to be able to pay his debts to the banks. According to Semeniuc, about 150 Romanians with loans on Swiss Francs are expected to attend a protest organized this Sunday, February 8, in Victoriei Square, Timisoara, reports Mediafax Romanian Parliament in talks with IMF and National Bank about Swiss Francs loans. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com