The only banks that remain after the consolidation – a result of paying compensation under borrowers’ relief legislation, complying with planned fair banking rules and converting their retail FX loan stock – will be the ones that boost efficiency and reduce operating costs, Nagy said at the conference organised by the Hungarian Leasing Association.

The MNB classifies eight Hungarian lenders as “big banks” at present: Budapest Bank, CIB Bank, Erste Bank Hungary, K&H Bank, MKB Bank, OTP Bank, Raiffeisen Bank and UniCredit Bank Hungary. Among them, OTP Bank is market leader.