‘I warned about the risks of loans in Swiss francs’

When I warned about the risks of loans in Swiss francs in 2005, no one publicly supported me. It is not always popular to try to protect consumers if people believe they are capable of managing their creditworthiness and like a certain product.

This was stated by the governor of HNB, Boris Vujčić, in an interview with Novi list, commenting on the proposed Consumer Credit Law, which is intended to limit framework loans on citizens’ current accounts, as well as interest rates on housing loans.

“Attempts to protect consumers from products they like are not very popular. I have my own experience from 2005 when I warned about the risks of loans in Swiss francs and when no one publicly supported me. On the contrary, various commentators and analysts wrote that I was making a mountain out of a molehill and trying to deprive people of cheap loans,” Vujčić said. Commenting on the 3 percent salary cuts in the public sector, he stated that HNB has been talking for years about the need for fiscal consolidation of the budget on the expenditure side and that this is precisely such a move. If it had been done earlier, it would have had a greater impact on reducing the deficit.

“The situation is very bad, but I do not think it is hopeless. If the process of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms had started at the beginning of the crisis, we would already see positive results today. Since it hasn’t, there is nothing left but to decisively work on gradually reducing the fiscal deficit primarily through the expenditure side, and on the other hand, to quickly improve the investment climate, so that the entry into the EU and the likely slow recovery of the EU economy can be used to attract and stimulate investments, as they must precede the increase in consumer optimism and domestic demand by creating jobs. It seems to me that this is finally understood now, but efficiency in implementation will be key to the speed of recovery,” concluded the governor.