Founded 35 years ago, the Hungarian Banking Association held its anniversary celebratory conference and General Meeting today, which was attended by, beside banks’ executives, government leaders responsible for the economy and finances, as well as 11 foreign banking association delegates. Márton Nagy, Minister for National Economy, informed participants about the as-is status the Hungarian economy. István Nagy, Minister for Agriculture, spoke about the best way of ensuring liquidity for businesses and sustaining the competitiveness of production under the current, more challenging circumstances; while Barnabás Virág, Deputy Governor of MNB, addressed the current challenges of monetary policy. A cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Hungarian Banking Association was signed.
At the General Meeting, the members decided to publish the following communiqué.
The wars in our neighbourhood and in the world constantly pose a challenge to democratic countries, including the Member States of the European Union. War evolvements cause uncertainty in energy prices and supply chains, the rearrangement of foreign trade flows due to the sanctions, the sense of escalation of war and the financial expenditures required for self-defence constantly hinder predictable economic development opportunities. Hungary is particularly sensitive to this, as its opportunities are significantly limited by the foreign economic environment due to its highly concentrated foreign market relations and small and open economy.
In recent decades, the open economy based spectacular development has been ensured by the adoption of market rationale. This demonstrates that the banking sector can operate most effectively and contribute to economic development on a market basis. That is why we support market-based development, that is why we are committed to financing investments in Hungary and Hungarian investments abroad And that is why we fight against market-distorting effects such as the sectoral surtax resulting in over-taxation, the interest rate cap and over-bureaucratized rules, as well as such legal framework that regulates the same activity in a different way and gives an advantage to the banks' new competitors. Today, these are the main obstacles to increasing European and regional competitiveness.
The Ministry of Finance contributes to the stabilization of the budget and the reduction of high inflation through fiscal rigour, while the Magyar Nemzeti Bank contributes through the central bank's interest rate policy. And the Ministry for National Economy is trying to give a new boost to the Hungarian economy by increasing investments. We can responsibly welcome actions to curb inflation, the targeted interest rate-subsidized credit facilities and decisions to support market processes, all of which contribute to the rapid recovery of the economy.
Digitalization is penetrating banking processes more and more deeply. On the one hand, this means more competitive, more customer-friendly and, ultimately, lower-cost services. In-depth digitalization helps electronic financial solutions popular with customers to gain ground. Digitalization is also helping to displace the expensive cash that fuels the grey economy and leads to the emergence of new social norms. Another effect of digitalization is the emergence of cyber crime. Cybercrime is a criminal category that law enforcement agencies are responsible for eradicating. In addition to the banks' very significant preventive IT efforts, customers can be protected by providing information and developing their financial literacy. The Cyber Shield program, organized jointly with the MNB, government agencies and other partners, and the continuous awareness-raising media appearances implemented together with the Media Union Foundation contribute to this. This can help reduce the number of victims of cybercrime, but the ultimate solution will be successful crime detection.
At the anniversary event, recognitions were also given based on the results of the last year/decade.
The Golden Beehive Award honour was conferred on:
- Sébastien de Brouwer (EBF)
- Gergely Fábián (NGM)
- Judit Gondos (PM)
- Ágnes Hornung (KIM)
- Anna Kósa (Erste)
- Péter Kovács (MagNet)
- István Nagy (AM)
- Ákos Tisza-Papp (MBH)
- István Tresó (K&H)
- Katalin Werny-György (OTP)
The Golden Beehive Medallion Award was conferred on:
- Tibor Pataki (MNB)
- Katalin Szenes (ÓE)
The Polish delegation awarded the Copernicus Medal to Levente Kovács (Hungarian Banking Association) for his work in the development of the banking sector.
In addition, 8 persons were assigned for the positions of Chairman of Banking Association Working Group and chief advisor by handing over their credentials.
Budapest, 10 May 2024 Hungarian Banking Association