Economy ministry, banking association agree on topics of talks

Concluding a growth pact, dealing with troubled debtors, assuming municipal debts and introducing a more effective credit guarantee system are among the topics Hungary's Economy Ministry and the Banking Association have agreed to discuss, state secretary Gábor Orbán told MTI on Friday. Attending the EBRD Annual Meeting in Istanbul, the state secretary said that the multi-year growth pact would provide a refund from the banking levy for banks pending their lending activities. Plans are also afoot to transform the market regulations of home leases, he said, adding that publishing lists of good debtors has not been put on the agenda. The idea of introducing a private insolvency plan to Hungary is also on the agenda, he said. The state secretary said that the key idea of the annual meeting – “innovation for growth” – fully coincides with the government's priorities. The governments seem to agree on the need to shift focus onto small and medium-sized enterprises which may play a key role in kick-starting economic growth, he said.