Since the subprime mortgage crisis morphed into the Great Financial Crisis, including the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, banks (and by extension bankers) have been deeply unpopular with the public, and therefore easy targets for politicians looking for a target to bash. It hasn’t helped that a) not even the banks themselves understood what they were doing as the housing bubble in the United States began to build, and b) bankers, at least those at the very top, tend to be extremely well paid.
Phrases such as “too big to fail,” while accurate descriptions of the creek up which the world had drifted while searching for a paddle, were never likely to win friends or support from the great unwashed masses, most of whom felt they were never offered the sort of bailouts the banks were, post-Lehman Brothers. On top of all of that, most businesses rely on bank loans, just as most individuals could not buy a home without a mortgage. It seems to be a common human failing that we are more likely to be antagonistic than grateful to those on whom we depend. Just think of King Philip IV of France and the Knights Templar. (When speaking of that military order, there are two coincidences worth mentioning here. Firstly, many historians regard the Templars as pioneers of banking in medieval Europe, not least because they developed the concept of secure deposits and letters of credit. Secondly, this print issue of the Budapest Business Journal will be published on Friday the 13th. If you don’t know the significance of that date, do an internet search on it and the Templars.)
Beyond noting in passing that the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary has long advocated that the government should phase out special taxes regardless of sector because they make the system less predictable and less competitive for international investors, I make no judgment on the rights or wrongs of the banking surtax here, but the numbers are eye-watering. OTP, Hungary’s largest lender, has just published its Q4 and 2025 results. Profit in Hungary fell 2% to HUF 264 billion in 2025, a decline the bank’s management directly linked to rising government levies. According to László Bencsik, deputy CEO, the financial transaction levy has increased two-and-a-half times over the last five years, while the extra-profit tax rose 7.5-fold in 2025, to HUF 54 bln from HUF 7 bln a year earlier. The bank’s total government-related burden reached HUF 259 bln in 2025 and could rise to HUF 330 bln this year, Bencsik says, though he insists the public has not seen or felt any impact from that. It is an illuminating insight into the world of banking, however, and as that is the theme of this issue’s Special Report, we trust you will find much more inside.
Robin Marshall
Editor-in-chief
This editorial was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of March 13, 2026.
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