Romanians with loans in Swiss Francs protest in Bucharest

About 600 Romanians with bank loans in Swiss Francs protested Sunday, January 25, at noon in Consitutiei Square in Bucharest. They asked the authorities to intervene in the general crisis generated by the appreciation of the Swiss Franc. Protesters want banks to convert the loans in foreign currencies to RON, at the rate when they took their loans, plus a maximum of 20%. The number of protesters increased to some 2,000 – 3,000 in a few hours. Romanian lawyer Gheorghe Piperea told protesters that banks don’t negotiate the terms of loans as individual solutions, despite bankers’ statements and that they should make groups of 200-300 people to negotiate, reports local Mediafax. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com