BUDAPEST: Hungaryʼs banking sector climbed 50% to HUF 632.4 billion last year, lifted by higher revenue from commissions and fees, freed-up risk provisions and the lower corporate tax rate.
The sectorʼs net interest revenue edged down 1% to HUF 775.2 bln. At the same time, net revenue from commissions and fees rose 5% to HUF 512.4 bln. Banks released HUF 187.9 bln of provisions during the period, up from just HUF 10.2 bln in 2016.
The MNB noted that it made the comparison from the start of the year, rather than the end of 2016, because of the switch by 14 lenders from Hungarian Accounting Standards (HAS) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from January 1, 2017.
The net lending stock increased 8% to HUF 18.127 tln during the period. The corporate lending stock rose 13% to HUF 6.175 tln, while the retail lending stock was up 5% at HUF 5.353 tln.
Lendersʼ deposits with the central bank fell 50% to HUF 968.7 bln because of measures by the MNB to shift the sectorʼs liquidity out of such instruments.
