President returns law on savings cooperatives to parliament

Áder said he disagreed with several sections of the law passed in an accelerated procedure on Thursday. The government will consider the president's remarks regarding the law and will ask parliament to put it on its agenda at the earliest date, government spokesman András Giró-Szász told in response to MTI. According to its preamble, the law aims to reform the sector of savings cooperatives because the low level of capital in the sector threatened its operations in the long term. It would create an integration of savings cooperatives with the savings cooperatives, their bank Takarékbank and the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) as members and the state acquiring an "important ownership position" in the sector through a capital injection which it could divest at a later stage.
    Áder said it disagrees with the law and sees a need to clarify its text with regard to the principle of legal certainty and the requirement of clear standards. The president specifically mentioned that MPs should reconsider the rules regulating the relationship of the integration organization and Takarékbank, and the relation with members, from the aspect of the necessity and the extent of limitations on ownership rights. Áder also asked parliament to consider the harmony of the law with the 2006/48 EP and Council directive.
    The association of savings cooperatives had asked President Áder not to sign the measure into law, saying, among others that the government failed to consult with them on the bill it submitted to parliament two days before its approval. Without giving a reason, Takarékbank announced Tuesday its supervisory board accepted the immediate-effect resignation of chairman-CEO Péter Csicsáky. The state took a 38.5% stake in Takarékbank last year.