Budapest, 28 May 2026 – Both the corporate and household loan markets picked up in 2026 Q1, with credit institutions’ corporate loans outstanding increasing by 9.7 per cent and the household loan portfolio by 17.3 per cent year on year. Based on the MNB’s Lending Survey, according to banks a turnaround in demand for investment loans is still yet to materialise. Housing lending is obviously shaped by the Home Start Programme. According to banks, the currently high demand for housing loans is expected to moderate during 2026.
The annual growth rate of the corporate loan portfolio stood at 9.7 per cent at the end of March 2026, exceeding both the regional average (8.5 per cent) and the EU average (3.5 per cent). According to preliminary data, the SME sector’s loans outstanding grew by 8.9 per cent year-on-year. The quarterly value of new contracts exceeded the level recorded in the same period of the previous year by 72 per cent. The share of subsidised loans within new loan contracts remained unchanged in the first quarter: they accounted for 17 per cent of total corporate disbursement and 36 per cent of loans extended to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to banks’ responses to the Lending Survey, lending conditions for corporates remained unchanged in the first quarter, meaning that supply-side conditions have remained nearly unchanged for three years. Financing costs for small-sized contracts recorded a modest decline, while those for larger-value contracts saw a modest increase: market-based transactions with an interest-rate period of up to one year were contracted at an average interest rate of 8.6 per cent and a spread of 2.2 percentage points in the case of HUF loans up to EUR 1 million and at an average interest rate of 8.5 per cent alongside a spread of 2.1 percentage points in the case of loans exceeding EUR 1 million.
According to 16 per cent of banks, corporate loan demand strengthened in the first quarter, primarily for short-term and forint-denominated loans, while demand for foreign currency loans and long-term investment loans remained broadly unchanged. A net quarter of banks expect demand to continue strengthening in 2026 Q2 and Q3; however, a turnaround in demand for investment loans is still yet to materialise.
Domestic household lending continued to show strong momentum in 2026 Q1. In March 2026, loans outstanding increased by 17.3 per cent year on year, exceeding both the regional average (7.2 per cent) and the EU average (3.1 per cent). The value of newly concluded household loan contracts increased by 54 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year. Housing loan disbursements doubled year-on-year, driven maily by the Home Start Programme: the scheme accounted for 72 per cent of disbursements, and since September 2025, nearly HUF 1,200 billion worth of loan contracts have been concluded under the programme through more than 33,000 contracts. At the launch of the programme, the proportion of subsidised housing loans increased from one fifth to four fifths. The contractual amount of Home Start loans is significantly higher (averaging HUF 35 million) than that of HPS Plus loans (HUF 21 million) and market-based housing purchase or construction loans (HUF 20 million). Personal loan disbursements increased by 22 per cent year-on-year.
Following the introduction of the Home Start Programme, the average interest rate payable by customers on newly disbursed housing loans declined to 3.6 per cent and remained at that level until March. The average interest rate on market-based housing loans remained broadly unchanged at around 6.5 per cent (with an average APR of 6.7 per cent). Nevertheless, one-third of banks indicated in the Lending Survey that they had tightened housing loan conditions in the first quarter, which primarily affected spreads.
According to banks’ assessment, demand for housing loans remained unchanged compared to the elevated level seen at the end of 2025, while looking ahead, one-fifth of banks expect demand to moderate. According to 40 per cent of banks, demand for consumer loans declined in the first quarter; however, a similar proportion of them projected a recovery in demand by mid-2026.