Zsigó said three-quarters of those families used the preferential credit to buy homes. Around 90% took out the maximum HUF 10 million, he added. 

The government introduced the unsecured, interest-free, general-purpose prenatal baby support loans of up to HUF 10 mln for families having children in July 2019. The loans are part of a package of family support measures designed to address the problem of depopulation and are available only until the end of this year. 

Zsigó noted that 30% of the loan's principal is canceled after the birth of the borrowers' second child and the full amount is discharged after the birth of a third child. 

The stock of prenatal baby support loans reached HUF 1.569 trillion at the end of December, according to the latest data from the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).