Mr Medojevic said that in the next few days they would resubmit to the Parliament the Draft Bill on the conversion of loans in Swiss Francs (CHF) into loans in Euro containing amendments proposed by the borrowers.
“All loans should be converted into Euros adding 8.2% interest, which was, according to official data, the highest interest rate the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank had calculated in the time of loan issuing,” Medojevic said.
He believes the State should take responsibility to certain extent.
“Based on what I saw in clients’ documentation, I can responsibly say that the bank sold highly speculative securities to the people instead of mortgage loans. It deceived the people, offering them to buy loans with 5.45% interest rate. They advertised a banking product, while introducing a speculative clause into contracts that none of the users was able to estimate then, nor did they know what it referred to. It could not be done without support of the Montenegrin regime. At this moment I call on the Special Prosecutor for organised crime to launch an immediate investigation,” Medojevic said.
He pointed out that the DF was ready to solve this problem in several ways.
“There is an example of a man who took €36,000 to buy a flat paying off instalments on a regular basis. The bank has seized his flat and he still needs to repay €100,000. It is the worst form of usury existing in Montenegro,” Medojevic said.
Dragan Senic, a representative of the borrowers, said that there were about 500 people in Montenegro who had taken out CHF loans.
“There is a man who took out €50,000 in 2007 and bought a house. After seven years of orderly repayment, he pays off the principal amounting to about €65,000 today. The monthly instalment which used to be €500 has increased to €900 now, since the CHF exchange rate rocketed by 80%. The question is what will happen tomorrow. People wanted to solve the existential issue and got stuck in a quagmire they cannot escape from,” Mr Senic explained, stressing that the borrowers had not their CHF loans issued in Swiss Francs, but in Euros instead.
