The Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) has requested that the government should consider freezing the rate on corporate loans between 5-10 percent and introducing a repayment moratorium for existing floating-rate loans “as long as the economic situation warrants”.

MKIK said that pass-through of a decision by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) almost a week earlier to raise the rate for its O/N deposit facility to 18 percent – well over the 13 percent base rate – was “lightning fast”.

With the three-month BUBOR at 16.5 percent and lending margins around 4 percent, borrowing businesses face rates of over 20 percent, it added.

MKIK pointed to a mortgage rate freeze and a repayment moratorium in place for retail borrowers that cushioned the negative impact of higher lending rates, but said dearer credit is a “huge blow” for businesses struggling with the energy crisis while on the brink of recovery from the pandemic.

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