Here is the central bank’s big decision, forint getting stronger

Hungarian central bank (NBH) rate-setters kept the base rate unchanged at 13.0 percent at a regular policy meeting on Tuesday.

At the same time, the Monetary Council decided to narrow the interest corridor further, the upper band lowered by 100 basis points to 16.5 percent. The forint continued to strengthen after the national bank’s decision. Currently, we have to pay 381.5 forint for 1 EUR. As we wrote in THIS article, the markets already priced the consecutive quick deposit rate decreases.

Government earmarks HUF 2 bn for Hungarian orgs across borders

Hungary’s government has earmarked two billion forints (EUR 5.2m) for supporting Hungarian organisations across the borders, the state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad told a press conference on Tuesday. The Caring Nation programme received 4,109 applications from the Carpathian Basin and Hungarian diasporas by the June 5 deadline, Árpád János Potápi said. The government will support 62 percent, or 2,571 applications, he said.

Fully 1.5 billion forints were earmarked to support operational costs and development such as the ice rink in Carta (Csikkarcfalva) in Transylvania. Another half a billion is going towards organising events and programmes such as the Harmony – Music Awards for Slovakia Hungarians, he said. Most of the bids for funding arrived from Transylvania, he said. The government is working to maintain its strategic goals despite the difficult economic situation and the war, Potápi said. It continues to bolster institutions across the border and maintain the network created during the thematic years organised to support various aspects of life, he said.

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Another goal is to support cooperation among micro-communities, he said. The Fidesz government has spent more than 500 billion forints on supporting some 34,000 organisations across the borders since it came to power in 2010, he said. More than 300 billionn forints has been ploughed into 5,400 investments, he added.