Negotiations aimed at solving the problem of those with foreign currency loans have commenced and will continue next week, Financial Affairs Commissioner György Doubravszky said at a press conference in Budapest.

The Commissioner for Financial Affairs initiated a series of multi-lateral meetings in order to address the plight of those with foreign currency loans. The first round of these was held on Wednesday with the participation the Government, the Hungarian Banking Association and experts representing people with so-called forex loans. The key objective of the negotiations is to find common ground for settling the issue of forex loans, which has affected hundreds of thousands of Hungarian families.

As György Doubravszky emphasized, one of the key questions is to find out whether the loans taken out were really foreign-currency based or in fact forint loans pegged to the exchange rate movements of a certain foreign currency, such as the Euro or Swiss Franc.

The goal of non-governmental organizations taking part in the meeting is to reduce social tensions generated by the forex loan exposure of Hungarian households. Their objective is to find a solution that would provide a comprehensive remedy beneficial for all parties, the Comissioner said.

Representatives of the Ministry for National Economy, the Hungarian Banking Association, the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority and the Hungarian State Audit Office all participated at the meeting, and in the future experts from the National Bank of Hungary are also expected to attend.

György Doubravszky also mentioned that on the basis of the latest data, 3500 apartments and residential property units were auctioned during the first quarter of this year. “Not a single eviction should take place,” he stressed. 

Responding to a question, he said that a proposal will be submitted to the Government and to Parliament which aims at extending the expiring eviction moratorium.

(Ministry for National Economy)