BUDAPEST: Hungarians opened almost 11,000 Start accounts, a type of account required to purchase “baby bonds”, in the first quarter of this year, Hungarian business daily Világgazdaság reported today, citing Treasury data. The paper noted that should the trend continue, the number of accounts opened in a single year could surpass 41,000, a record set in 2011.
Since 2006, the Hungarian State Treasury has made the HUF 42,500 start-of-life subsidy – often referred to as “baby bonds” – available to all Hungarian-born citizens who reside in the country, Parents may contribute to the bond until their children turn 18.
Hungarian news agency MTI said that the Treasury recently took over exclusive management of the subsidy, while earlier, the accounts could be opened at banks and savings cooperatives. The total number of Start accounts stood at 77,000 at the end of March at which time the cumulative balance had reached HUF 14.6 bln, MTI added.
