Hungarian minister asked banks to keep home loan APRs under 5%

National Economy Minister Márton Nagy asked for lenders’ cooperation in implementing the rollout of workers credit and keeping mortgage rates down at a meeting with representatives of the Hungarian Banking Association on Thursday, his ministry said in a statement.

Nagy asked lenders to make sufficient preparations for the workers credit that will be offered to blue collar workers between the ages of 17 and 22. He also asked banks to keep home loan APRs under 5pc.

To allow a government measure that would exempt tips from tax, he asked banks to make the necessary technical changes allowing customers to give tips separately when paying with POS terminals.

He asked banks to digitalise Hungarians’ SZEP voucher cards, allowing payments with mobile phones and making it easier to spend the close to HUF 100bn sitting on SZEP balances.

Nagy asked lenders to report back on how and when they would comply with the requests within two months.

The sides also discussed the state of the economy. Lenders said they wanted to contribute to putting the economy back on the growth track by boosting lending activity.

Nagy said Hungary’s GDP growth could reach 3-5pc in 2025, depending on the performance of the German economy. He added that the talks had been “constructive”.