Inflation had already fallen in March, reaching 4.7 percent on an annual basis.Continue reading
The agreement between the Hungarian Central Bank and the Hungarian Banking Association will make banking costs simpler, more transparent, and cheaper, central bank governor Mihály Varga told MTI after receiving the leaders of the association at his office on Tuesday morning. The new agreement includes five measures to strengthen information and reduce the fees for certain retail financial services.
The central bank governor and the leaders of the banking association agreed that the Hungarian financial system is on sound footing, the liquidity and capital position of banks are strong, and this will allow for a reduction in banking fees.
As a result, banks will in future make basic accounts free of charge as long as the inflation rate does not fall below the upper limit of the central bank’s tolerance band (4%) for three consecutive months.
At the same time, banks will notify customers who could opt for a more favorable account package than the current one, at the latest together with their PAD (pre-authorized debits) statements.
Additional help will be provided by a future customer information campaign, giving detailed information on the annual costs of banks’ account packages, so that existing account packages can be compared with other, more favorable schemes. The central bank and the banking association have also agreed that financial institutions will use the central bank’s fee package calculator to help costumers choose the most favorable account package on their websites.
Customers can then also cancel their old account online to speed up the process of switching accounts.
Viktor Orbán said in an interview on Kossuth Radio last week that there have been price increases in three areas that have hit Hungarian families hard. One was food, the second was telecoms services, and the third was banking services. The Prime Minister highlighted that the banking sector had had a successful year, so he believed there was a legitimate expectation that price increases should be curbed, and that there was a realistic chance for an agreement.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Pexels