THE SWISS CENTRAL BANK IS EXPECTING THE DEPRECIATION OF THE SWISS FRANC COMPARED TO THE EURO Poland is working on a solution for the CHF borrowers

Polish authorities seem determined to help customers that have CHF loans and to force the banks to share part of the burden.

Polish Prime-minister Ewa Kopacz said that Poland is working on solutions that would help borrowers who took out mortgage loans denominated in Swiss francs and which have seen their installments increase, after Switzerland lifted the peg on the Euro-Swiss franc exchange rate, in January.

"We do not want to put an additional burden on those who took out loans, we want to place the burden on those who have pushed the papers in front of them to sign", said Kopacz, quoted by Reuters, adding: "The state should take on the responsibility, so people can pay their installments, which now exceed their means. We are looking for solutions to help them".

Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski is also telling bank customers that they can feel safe.

The president expects the talks between the banks and the regulator will lead to solutions that are beneficial for every party, a presidential advisor said on Friday.

"The problem of the government's intervention will become pertinent, when changing the law will become necessary", said advisor Olgierd Dziekonski.

He added that president Bronislaw Komorowski expects the talks between the Association of Polish Banks (ZBP) and the Polish Financial Oversight Authority (KNF) will lead to a draft solution, by the end of May.

Around 550,000 poles have CHF mortgages, taken out before the financial crisis, when the Polish zloty was strong enough compared to the Swiss franc.

Currently, some of these debtors are having problems repaying their loans, after, on January 15th, the Swiss National Bank decided to eliminate the peg on the EUR-CHF exchange rate, which caused the polish zloty lose 22% against the Swiss currency.

The strengthening of the CHF has also created problems for Switzerland, whose economy fell 0.1% in the first quarter, amid the drop in exports.

The Swiss Central Bank has announced that it is monitoring the value of the Swiss franc against several currencies and it is pleased with the impact of the negative interest rate, according to what one of the members of the Board told a local newspaper, quoted by Reuters.

Fritz Zurbruegg, member on the board of the Swiss National Bank, said: "The Swiss Franc is still too strong. All of our models prove that".

He also said that the SNB is not just watching the evolution of the Euro-Swiss Franc Exchange rate, but also the exchange rates with several currencies, and he added that the Central Bank expects the franc to weaken against the Euro.

Zurbruegg also said that the SNB may increase its balance sheet, a signal that the central bank may be prepared to intervene on the monetary market to weaken the franc.

In another interview, Zurbruegg said that the Swiss National Bank is pleased with the impact of the negative policy rate of -0.75%.