After a meeting with association leaders, the sides agreed that lenders would waive fees on no-frills retail accounts until headline CPI remained under 4% — the upper threshold of the central bank’s tolerance band — for three consecutive months, according to state news wire MTI.
Banks also agreed to inform their clients of cheaper account packages that could better suit them, undertake a customer information campaign detailing and comparing account costs, use the central bank’s account package calculator on their websites to help clients select the best account for their needs, and allow clients to close old accounts online.
OTP Bank, Hungary’s biggest commercial lender, on Tuesday announced steps in line with government efforts to bring down service price inflation.
After talks between the National Economy Ministry and the Hungarian Banking Association, OTP said it was prepared to freeze retail account and bank card fees until June 30, 2026.
The lender said it would counter inflation-linked fee increases for retail clients introduced on March 1 by extending discounts worth several billion forints, and reducing their banking costs by close to HUF 2 bln in the 12 months starting May 1.
As a result, OTP will comply with the request of the national economy minister to roll back retail banking fees to levels at the start of 2025, it added.
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