The number of people in Romania with loans in Swiss francs dropped by 25% between July and December 2016, reaching 38,519 at the end of last year, according to data released on Friday by Romania’s National Bank (BNR).

In the last two years, the number of Romanians with loans in Swiss francs has dropped at a fast pace from over 75,400 in November 2014 to over 61,800 in November 2015 and around 51,300 in July 2016.

The balance of Swiss franc loans amounted to RON 5.4 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) at the end of December last year. Romanian banks also had 241 loans in Swiss francs granted to a number of 211 companies, which were worth RON 120 million (EUR 26.5 million), at the end of last year.

The decline in the number of loans in Swiss francs to individuals is related to conversion agreements between banks and customers. The number of customer requests for conversion or restructuring of Swiss franc loans amounted to over 37,300 between January 2015 and January 2017.

editor@romania-insider.com