Budapest, September 1, 2025 – In line with its practice in recent years, the MNB has reviewed the adequacy of its macroprudential toolkit affecting the domestic real estate and mortgage lending market. In response to market developments, the MNB has adopted several targeted measures to strengthen financial stability. Starting January 1, 2026, credit institutions will be required to establish a 1 percent systemic risk capital buffer for exposures backed by either residential or commercial real estate. Aligning to the wage developments of recent years, the income threshold allowing for higher debt service as a proportion of income will be increased to HUF 800,000. To support the smooth functioning of lending processes, in September 2025, the MNB will remove the age restriction pertaining to the more favorable loan-to-value (LTV) requirements for first-time homebuyers. Additionally, from October 2026, the requirements for stable financing of mortgage loans will be further strengthened.
Considering the elevated risks in the real estate market and related lending activities, and reflecting lessons learned from the annual review discussions with credit institutions, the MNB has decided to amend its macroprudential toolkit targeting real estate lending related systemic risks. The changes aim to strengthen banks’ shock-resilience and funding structure, mitigate the growth of real estate market related systemic risks, and support the smoothness of lending processes.
In view of the greatly increased activity in the housing market and the risks surrounding the commercial real estate market, the MNB decided to review the current Systemic Risk Buffer (SyRB) requirement and apply it in a forward-looking, sectoral manner. Under the modification, the framework activated on July 1, 2024, will be repealed, and starting January 1, 2026, a 1 percent sectoral SyRB will be required for exposures to domestic parties secured by mortgages on either residential or commercial properties in Hungary. Due to the still strong capital position and profitability of the banks, the measure will not significantly affect the banks' lending capacity or the conditions for lending. The measure will increase the shock-resilience of banks specifically in the segments with heightened risk.
As part of the annual review of its borrower-based measures regulation, and considering changes in the mortgage market, the increasing mortgage lending partially due to the “Home Start” program, and feedback from market participants, the MNB has also decided to modify its borrower-mased measures. According to the modification, the MNB will repeal the age limit of 41 years, which applies to the 90 percent loan-to-value ratio (a minimum 10 percent down payment requirement) for first-time homebuyers, effective from the day after its publication in the Hungarian Official Gazette. The removal of the age limit will support the smoothness of the lending process in the evolving market environment. Additionally, to further improve the efficiency of lending processes, starting in December 2025, first-time homebuyers who qualify for the higher loan-to-value ratio will need to be identified by lenders with less administrative burden, through property registry queries.
Furthermore, due to the strong nominal wage growth in recent years, the MNB will raise the income threshold for the higher debt-service-to-income ratio (up to 60%) from HUF 600,000 to HUF 800,000, which was last modified in July 2023; the limit for small loans exempt from the borrower-based measures regulation from HUF 450,000 to HUF 550,000. These changes, as well as other technical adjustments recommended by banks, will take effect from January 1, 2026.
The MNB has also decided to strengthen the requirements ensuring the stable funding of mortgages. Starting in October 2026, under the mortgage funding adequacy ratio (MFAR) regulation, the MNB will implement measures to reduce interbank mortgage bond purchases. Additionally, the stock exchange listing of newly issued mortgage bonds and an increase in the maturity of new stable funds will be required. To ease the burden on institutions with smaller portfolios, the threshold for exemption from the regulation, related to the mortgage stock, will be raised from HUF 40 billion to HUF 100 billion. Furthermore, mortgage-backed securities other than mortgage bonds will also be accepted as stable funding.
Following the decision of the Financial Stability Board, the regulation modifying the borrower-based measures is expected to be published in the Hungarian Official Gazette in the coming days. The final details of the systemic risk buffer and the mortgage funding adequacy ratio regulations will be finalized by the MNB in the coming weeks, in parallel with consultations with credit institutions.
The MNB will publish the details of the adopted amendments on its subpages for each instrument.