Austria turns to European Commission over early FX repayment scheme - Figyelő

Austria has asked the European Commission to review a Hungarian scheme allowing borrowers to make full repayment of foreign currency-denominated mortgages at discounted exchange rates, Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter told business weekly Figyelő.

Fekter said the repayment scheme was an unfair intervention in valid contracts and a breach of the EU acquis, the weekly said in a teaser for a piece to be published in its fresh issue on Thursday. Recent amendments to legislation in Hungary that "bear the marks of populism" have made many potential investors question the country as a target market and forced companies already in the country to rethink their investments, she added.

She said the measures taken thus far would "very likely" have an unfavorable effect on economic growth and employment in Hungary. "Regardless of how necessary reforms are for Hungary, the country must take care to see they are in harmony with the rules laid down in European Union policy and legislation," she added.

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