Central Bank Head: Hungary ‘on brink of great opportunities’

The National Bank of Hungary will protect the country’s achievements of the past ten years, central bank governor György Matolcsy said in an interview to MTI on Friday, insisting that the Hungarian economy was “on the brink of great opportunities”.

The level of uncertainty in the global economy makes it hard to predict economic developments, Matolcsy said, adding, however that the central bank’s package of measures aimed at mitigating the economic fallout of the novel coronavirus outbreak and the government’s stimulus measures gave Hungary a sound basis for maintaining a growth rate that is 2-3 percentage points above the European Union average.

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“We continue to believe that the Hungarian economy can achieve a V-shaped recovery,” he said.

Matolcsy praised Hungary’s economic achievements of the past ten years which he said had helped “bring the country back from the edge of a cliff”. He said the central bank had prepared “effective targeted measures” in order to protect Hungary’s economic stability amid the current crisis. The measures, he said, “must help both those in need and those even capable of overtaking others in the turn, thereby laying the foundations to restart the economy”.

The measures implemented by the central bank and the government have required careful thought and planning, with both entities using all the tools available to them, he said.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the Hungarian economy,” Matolcsy said. The central bank’s new programme dubbed Funding for Growth Scheme Go! will encourage all economic players to return to the economy, he said, adding that “the Hungarian economy is indeed on the brink of great opportunities.”