Plan to help Croatians with Swiss franc mortgages

Zagreb

CROATIANS with Swiss franc mortgages they can no longer afford may be obliged to transfer their properties to the state under a proposal from the country's banking association.

The banks, the finance ministry and the central bank will meet next week to discuss the plan, under which such mortgage holders - caught out by sharp gains in the value of the franc - would become tenants in their current properties. "This would be a solution for those who have lost their job or suffered a considerable reduction in income and have a Swiss franc loan for a property in which they live. The banks would cover all the costs of debt relief," Zoran Bohacek, head of the HUB association of local banks, told reporters.