of the vice - presidents of the national committee for substantiation of the national euro changeover plan, founded last year, which prepared a set of documents that emphasise the need for a substantial degree of convergence before entering the euro area. in fact, it is the maastricht treaty that explicitly stipulates the need for “ a high degree of sustainable convergence ”. yet, this requirement seems to have been overlooked sometimes. let me point out that by convergence i refer to all four types of convergence that must be taken into account : nominal, real, institutional and structural. nominal convergence is easily quantifiable, as the specific criteria are clearly defined in the maastricht treaty. but we also have to ensure the compatibility of our institutions with those in the euro area and this is the essence of institutional convergence, a process where the central bank and its independence are 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches particularly important. while structural convergence focuses on adapting the structure of our economy to that of the euro area, real convergence, measured by gdp per capita ( at pps ) as a percentage of euro area / eu average, is the best proxy for the development level of a nation. romania has certainly come a long way in terms of economic convergence, a process whose inception is tied to the prospects of eu membership, witnessing a significant increase in per capita gdp as a share of the euro area average ( based on pps ), from 31. 3 percent in 2005 to 60. 4 percent in 2018. peer countries recorded a similar trend : bulgaria went from about 33 percent to 47 percent, while czechia, hungary and poland, which started from a more advanced level, added 11 to 23 percentage points to the same indicator during 2005 – 2018. however, this process is still far from completion in these non - euro new member states. talking about real convergence, practical experience has showed us that the eurozone is not a “ convergence club ”, as its members did not necessarily improve their real convergence after joining it. the euro area is not a cosy place for economies with lagging competitiveness or rigid markets. in this context, a high enough level of real convergence ( in addition to the compliance with the nominal convergence criteria ) is needed when joining the euro area, to limit the costs associated with losing monetary policy independence. a high enough level does not mean that we are so ambitious as to aim for a convergence level of 90 % of the eurozone average or a level

exclusively taken by individual borrowers. these loans account for around 10 % of total loans to households, and individuals with chf - denominated loans ( 75, 412 ) account for 2. 1 % of the total number of individual borrowers. for comparison, in poland, the number of chf borrowers exceeds 500, 000. the rationale behind the boom in chf lending during 2007 - 2008 is in close connection with the social factors. the chf borrowing costs were lower at the credit agreement date, which ensured easier access to lending for lower income borrowers, as well as larger loans for larger income borrowers. on the other hand, the unfavourable developments in the chf may have a major adverse impact on debtors ’ capacity to repay the loans. a simulation of the instalments of a standard loan in chf, ron and eur respectively, extended in december 2008, shows that : ( i ) at the credit agreement date, the monthly instalments on chf - denominated loans were lower compared with similar monthly instalments on loans granted in ron or eur, and ( ii ) the impact of the change in the exchange rate and / or the interest rate was stronger on chf loans than on those in the other currencies. the number of chf borrowers is on the decline ( by 31. 8 % in november 2014 compared with december 2008, i. e. by around 35, 200 ). the drop is due to loan repayment, loan conversion into another currency, their removal from the balance sheets or their sale. the number of chf borrowers fell at a faster rate compared with the household loan dynamics at aggregate level, the number of debtors moving down 15 % between december 2008 and november 2014. the number of chf loans witnessed a similar development. credit risk associated with chf - denominated loans is relatively higher compared with other currencies. in november 2014, the npl ratio on household loans in chf stood at around 12 % versus 9. 4 % for all foreign currency - denominated loans to households, yet the dynamics were similar to those of foreign currency - denominated loans overall. bis central bankers ’ speeches recent studies also identify heightened risks and correspondingly high costs associated with chf loans to unhedged borrowers at an international level, particularly in non - euro area countries. individuals with chf - denominated loans are not a homogeneous group