HungaryTrends – Main business and finance news from previous week

See below main business and financial news from the previous week:

ECB MONITORS NBH INVOLVEMENT IN BOURSE

The European Central Bank (ECB) will continue monitoring the involvement of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) in the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE), the ECB said in its annual report. The NBH’s acquisition of a majority stake in the BSE in November 2015 “may still be seen as giving rise to monetary financing concerns”, the ECB said.

SHOCKING! HALF OF THE EU FUNDS TO HU GO TO TWO AUSTRIAN COMPANIES AND GOV CLOSE BUSINESSMEN

When Günther Oettinger, the European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, revealed that most of the EU funds flowing into Eastern Europe indirectly go back to Germany, there was a public outcry in Hungary. However, there were no numbers put behind the statements. Read more HERE.

GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH RETAIL BOND WITH COUPON THAT KEEPS GETTING BIGGER

The government has decided to launch in June a bond for retail investors that pays a graduated rate of 3.5 percent to 6.0 percent over five years, the finance minister said. The coupon on the five-year bond will be 3.5 percent at the end of six months and 4.0 percent at the end of twelve months. Half a percentage point will be added to the coupon each year after that, meaning the bond pays 6.0pc in the final year of its term, he added.

NBH INTL RESERVES UP BY EUR 1.13 BN IN MARCH

The National Bank of Hungary‘s (NBH) international reserves stood at 27.475 billion euros at the end of February, up 1.131 billion euros from the end of the previous month, preliminary data released Friday show. The reserves were up 72 million euros from the end of 2018.

NBH LEAVES COUNTERCYCLICAL CAPITAL BUFFER RATE AT 0 PC

The National Bank of Hungary has left the rate of its countercyclical capital buffer, introduced in 2016 to mitigate the impact of future financial crises, at 0 percent. The countercyclical capital buffer is set at 0-2.5 percent of total risk-weighted assets each quarter in an NBH decree.

THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER PROPERTIES IN BUDAPEST REVEALED

For years properties in blocks of flats were the most popular choice of housing in Budapest. However, there is a growing interest in newly built real estate too, read more HERE.

CONSTRUCTION SECTOR OUTPUT SHOULD BE BOOSTED BY 54 PC BY 2023, OFFICIAL SAYS

The construction sector’s performance must be boosted by an additional 53-54 percent by 2023 if it is to meet its orders totalling 25,000 billion forints in the period between 2018 and 2023, state secretary of the Innovation and Technology Ministry László György said at a conference held as part of the Construma trade fair in Budapest. László Koji, who heads construction association ÉVOSZ, said they expect that sectoral output will rise by at least 15 percent annually this year.

OTP BANK CLOSES ACQUISITION OF ALBANIAN UNIT OF SOC GEN

OTP Bank on March 29 closed the financial acquisition of Banka Societe Generale Albania (SGAL), the Albanian subsidiary of the Societe Generale Group, the Hungarian bank said on the Budapest Stock Exchange. OTP Bank has become the sole owner of SGAL. With a market share of nearly 6 percent SGAL is the fifth largest bank on the Albanian banking market and as a universal bank it has been active in the retail and corporate segment as well.

WIZZ AIR STANDS BY 2018/19 BUSINESS YEAR GUIDANCE

Hungarian low-fare airline Wizz Air on Tuesday said it expects to deliver net profit for its business year ended March 31 in the upper half of its guidance range of between 270 million euros and 300 million euros. Demand remains “robust” Wizz Air said in an update, noting that March traffic statistics showed load factors were up by an annual 2.6 percentage points at 94.1 percent.

UNICREDIT BANK HUNGARY APPOINTS PATAI REPLACEMENT

UniCredit Bank Hungary’s head of corporate, investment and private banking has been appointed to replace outgoing chairman-CEO Mihály Patai, the lender told MTI. Balázs Tóth will take the position after the appointment is approved by the financial market watchdog. Patai is leaving the helm after 13 years to become a deputy governor of the central bank.

THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS WILL ARRIVE IN HUNGARY TO BUILD A CHEMICAL PLANT