The exchange rate for the Swiss Franc (CHF) jumped as much as 40% against the Romanian leu (RON) on the interbank market, on Thursday noon, January 15, to RON 5.35/CHF, according to live data available on Yahoo Finance.

The official exchange rate announced by the central bank on Thursday was RON 4.3287/CHF, some 16% higher than the previous level of RON 3.7415/CHF.

This strong increase of the CHF was determined by the Swiss Central Bank’s announcement that it will end of Swiss Franc's peg to the Euro at CHF 1.20/EUR. As a result, the Swiss Franc skyrocketed against the Euro and all other currencies.

The CHF/RON exchange rate is calculated indirectly based on the EUR/RON and the EUR/CHF exchange rates.

This news comes as a blow for tens of thousands of Romanians who have to repay loans in Swiss Francs. Many of these loans were taken in the 2006-2008 period, when Romanian banks lured customers with the promise of lower interest rates for the Swiss currency. However, the exchange rate was then around RON 2/CHF, half of what it is today.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com