Chamber calls for rate freeze, repayment moratorium for firms

The Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) has requested that the government should consider freezing the rate on corporate loans between 5-10 percent and introducing a repayment moratorium for existing floating-rate loans “as long as the economic situation warrants”.

MKIK said that pass-through of a decision by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) almost a week earlier to raise the rate for its O/N deposit facility to 18 percent – well over the 13 percent base rate – was “lightning fast”.

With the three-month BUBOR at 16.5 percent and lending margins around 4 percent, borrowing businesses face rates of over 20 percent, it added.

MKIK pointed to a mortgage rate freeze and a repayment moratorium in place for retail borrowers that cushioned the negative impact of higher lending rates, but said dearer credit is a “huge blow” for businesses struggling with the energy crisis while on the brink of recovery from the pandemic.

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Source: MTI