Budapest, 2 November 2025 – “Household savings, in an adequate amount and structure, play a key role in the stability of the financial system and the balanced and sustainable development of the economy,” according to MNB Governor Mihály Varga, speaking at the jubilee bell ringing ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of OTP Bank’s listing on the stock exchange. Varga emphasised that the smoothly functioning Hungarian stock exchange played a major part in ensuring that savings were able to bolster the domestic economy.
Governor Varga highlighted that Hungary had been able to maintain its financial stability, despite the current global economic challenges. Among other things, this was demonstrated by the stabilisation of the forint exchange rate in recent months. He underlined that this exchange rate stability was also starting to be reflected in prices as well, thus facilitating the decline in inflation. Varga pointed out that stability, a smoothly functioning financial market and a well-capitalised banking system were needed for the economy to function adequately. As he had previously said, one of the strengths of the Hungarian banking system was undoubtedly the fact that OTP, a Hungarian-owned bank, was one of its most important drivers. The data also indicated that the Hungarian banking system provided a suitable basis for the functioning and financing of the economy. The Governor also noted that, as a percentage of GDP, the savings of Hungarian households and their current financial assets were higher than in other countries in the region. The net financial assets of Hungarian households as a percentage of GDP had increased from a level of 82% in the early 2010s to 114% today. Varga also talked about how a well-functioning stock exchange was an important component of stability. As he had previously highlighted, one perfect example of this was the BUX index, which had posted a gain of 80 percent over the past period of almost two years and was currently one of the world’s best performing stock indices.