The consumer in the process of deciding on a bank and the Swiss franc as a loan currency: the impact of the decision on consumers’ disposable income

Abstract

At the beginning of the article the authors referred to the consumer, the factors affecting his or her choices and the decision-making process. Subsequently, the factors and circumstances determining the consumer’s choice of a loan denominated in the Swiss franc (CHF) in Poland were specified. In the following section there wa presented an analysis of the value of granted CHF loans in the period from 07.2008 to 05.2022. It was assumed that the analysed group regards: a family of 2+2, i.e., two working individuals with incomes equal to 150% of a minimum wage; a loan of PLN 250,000 to be repaid over 30 years, disbursed on 1.08.2008 in one tranche, being repaid since 1.09.2008. A comparative analysis entailed three selected banks. In the summary, the authors referred to the main hypothesis: despite the knowledge of the economic conditions, the consumer possesses a lower disposable income when choosing a CHF credit, and two auxiliary hypotheses: hypothesis 1 was that home loans denominated in CHF, despite having a lower interest rate are less favourable to the borrower in the long run than the loans denominated in the Polish zloty, and hypothesis 2 was that in the process of deciding upon a bank, the consumer is guided by economic factors.