Government moves 3.23 pct interest rate on Swiss franc loans

The government on Thursday sent to parliament an amendment to a final bill of amendments to the consumer credit law, recommending an interest rate of 3.23 per cent on loans pegged to the Swiss franc as of January 1.

Deputy Finance Minister Boris Lalovac said the government received from the central bank a calculation under which the average weighted interest rate on housing loans pegged to the Swiss franc over a 13-year period was 4.62%.

A 30% discount will be applied to that rate, making the interest rate on all loans pegged to the Swiss franc 3.23% if the franc appreciated 20% from the day when the loan was taken.

Lalovac said the government received a note in writing from the Croatian Banking association that it was scrapping any interpretations of constitutionality and retroactivity regarding the lower rate. He said this was important for the law to go into force on 1 January 2014, so that citizens could pay lower interest as of February.

Lalovac informed the government about an issue of a ten-year state bond worth US$ 1.7 billion, saying the money would be used to repay debts. He said two ten-year bonds were due next year, one worth EUR 650 million in February and one worth EUR 500 million due in April.

The government also sent to parliament a bill on the takeover of joint stock companies, moving the introduction of a single ownership threshold of 25% for submitting a takeover offer.

(Hina)



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