Joint statement by the MNB and leading Hungarian commercial banks

17 October 2008

On 17 October 2008, representatives of seven Hungarian commercial banks, accounting for the overwhelming majority of the domestic banking market, held discussions in the Magyar Nemzeti Bank. The participants at the meeting agreed that, although the Hungarian banking sector cannot be insulated from the effects of the global financial crisis, domestic banks are properly equipped to meet customer needs arising from economic growth in the future. The country’s leading banks, therefore, hold the view that lending, and in particular foreign currency lending, will continue to grow at an adequate, albeit declining, pace, and with tighter standards than in the earlier period. In view of the different business policies of the banks, the currency composition of loans will change: the share of Swiss franc-denominated loans is highly likely to fall, with forint and euro-denominated loans growing in importance.

MAGYAR NEMZETI BANK
BUDAPEST BANK
CIB BANK
ERSTE BANK
K&H BANK
OTP BANK
RAIFFEISEN BANK
UNICREDIT BANK