Banks had offered to place HUF 248 bln in the facility.

The MNBʼs Monetary Council said earlier that the stock of three-month deposits, the central bankʼs main sterilization instrument, would fall to HUF 300 bln by the end of the third quarter.

The central bankʼs policy-makers have gradually reduced the three-month deposit stock since last autumn by setting end-of-quarter caps. The measure is one of several “unconventional” policy moves to support monetary easing while keeping the base rate unchanged.