Hungary Banknotes to Get Revamp

Budapest, September 1 (MTI) – The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) today announced it would revamp the banknotes it issues in 2014-2018.

The new banknotes will be harder to counterfeit, it said.

The 10,000 forint bill will be the first one to get a facelift. The new bill will be legal tender from Tuesday, but will not come into broad circulation until December.

The old 10,000 forint bills will remain in circulation for the time being. The NBH will take a decision on their withdrawal at a later date.

The banknotes in circulation at present were first issued between 1997 and 2001.

The opposition Socialists interpreted the announcement as the government’s admission that it has dropped plans to introduce the euro in Hungary.

Sandor Burany, Socialist head of parliament’s budget committee, told MTI that “the government prefers a weak forint, which increases the burden on families by tens of thousands a month”. Hungarians need instant measures to strengthen the national currency rather than a facelift to banknotes, he insisted.

The announcement also indicates that Gyorgy Matolcsy is not suited to head the National Bank, and the Socialists “expect him to sign his letter of resignation”, Burany added.

Photo: MTI – Zoltan Mathe

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters