Orbán cabinet extends repayment moratorium for vulnerable borrowers

The government has decided to extend the moratorium on loan repayments for vulnerable borrowers until June 30, 2022, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said on Monday.

Under the decision, pensioners, families expecting and raising children, public workers and people whose incomes have fallen compared with last year will be eligible for continued participation in the moratorium from November, Varga said in a video posted on Facebook.

Corporate borrowers who wish to continue participating will have to show a decline in revenue of at least 25 percent, he added.

To give borrowers enough time to notify their banks that they intend to keep participating in the moratorium, the current blanket moratorium will be automatically extended until Oct. 31, the minister said.

Varga said that 91 percent of Hungarians who sent back the government’s latest National Consultation questionnaire supported extending the moratorium for vulnerable borrowers.

People were also in agreement that all generations and segments of society should benefit from the post-pandemic economic recovery.

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The first announcement based on the survey’s findings was expected to be about the extension of the moratorium on loan repayments.

The public also supports a personal income tax rebate for families raising children if economic growth reaches 5.5 percent, he said, adding that the measure was set to leave the average family with hundreds of thousands of forints more in disposable income.

Also, 98 percent of the survey’s respondents agreed on the need to give constitutional protection to family subsidies and low taxes on labour,.

An overwhelming majority of respondents agreed on raising the minimum wage to 200,000 forints (EUR 570), he added.

The minister also advised borrowers who were not distressed to consider restarting instalments.

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Source: MTI