BUDAPEST: Roughly 90% of banks in Hungary said they are willing to increase their lending activity, chiefly among SMEs, in response to the Hungarian government reiterating statements that the extraordinary tax on the banking sector would be lowered in favor of banks lending more.
Increased lending activity is the “missing link”, National Bank of Hungary (MNB) managing director Márton Nagy said this morning on state-owned all news channel M1. Nagy also noted that the government has already taken steps to reduce the bank levy, referring to the budget bill of 2016, which was recently submitted to Parliament.
The managing director also expressed his hope that banks would fulfill their commitment, adding that the central bank would observe them to keep the plan on course. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said earlier that the levy on the banking sector would be cut, however, banks are not “legally bound” to increase lending activity. Conversely, Hungary’s National Economy Minister Mihály Varga said earlier that whether the cut for increased lending would require legal regulation was still “up for debate”.
