The Magyar Nemzeti Bank welcomes the Government’s decisions related to the moratorium on instalment payments of loans
The coronavirus has a negative impact on the Hungarian economic agents, with unfavourable effects on the loan instalment capacity of households and corporate clients. It is of key importance to ensure that in the current emergency situation, the temporary liquidity difficulties do not lead to persistent and deepening economic problems. The Government’s measures aimed at temporary payment relief serve the protection of households and corporate clients.
The moratorium on the instalment of loans, i.e. a delay of payment, is a precautionary restructuring, which helps resolve the temporary difficulties of debtors. It is also important for the banks to bridge the liquidity problems of the real economy, thereby maintaining the clients’ solvency.
Upon the expiry of the moratorium, the customers will have to pay the unpaid instalments, i.e. overall, the measure provides no exemption from the debt obligations. As customers will also pay their debt at the end of the temporary measures, the moratorium does not have a significantly negative impact on the profitability and capital position of financial institutions. Although the postponement of the instalments does have an effect on the operation of the banking sector, it bears utmost importance for the MNB to provide, by all means, the liquidity necessary to maintain the operation of the sector, thereby contributing to the maintenance of financial stability.