In line with the proposal by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, the Hungarian Government imposed a moratorium on corporate and household loan instalments, effective until the end of 2020. Accordingly, debt-service burdens of over HUF 400 billion monthly and a total of HUF 3,600 billion until the end of 2020 will be postponed. Within postponed repayments, principal repayment accounts for HUF 3,150 billion, and interest rates and fees amount to nearly HUF 450 billion.
Customers will not be relieved of their annual payment obligations for 2020. The moratorium, i.e. the postponement of repayments, is a precautionary action taken to preventing temporary liquidity difficulties from developing into persistent and serious economic problems. After the payment moratorium ends, debtors will have to continue paying their instalments deferred.
However, the MNB expects financial institutions to offer solutions which ensure that the postponement of payments will not lead to an increase in debtors’ instalments from the original after the payment moratorium ends. This entails an extended maturity for most debtors which ensures that monthly burdens remain unchanged at the original level or below. As a result, repayment is not expected to cause difficulties for customers. In the Bank’s view, the above requirement helps to maintain the equilibrium between creditors’ and debtors’ interests in the current extraordinary situation.