Europese Commissie en IMF blij met toezegging dat buitenlandse banken in Hongarije blijven (en)

IP/09/822

Brussels , 20 May 2009

The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund welcome the commitment of the six largest foreign banks in Hungary

In a coordination meeting held today in Brussels, the parent banks of the six largest foreign banks incorporated in Hungary reaffirmed the commitments to take action needed to support their subsidiaries in the country. These commitments, along with the balance of payments support package of the EU, the IMF and the World Bank implemented since early November 2008, will help Hungary's banking system to weather the current crisis better, strenghten investor confidence, and return the economy to a robust growth path.

In light of the adverse effects of the global financial crisis on the economic and financial situation in Hungary, the country is receiving balance of payments support of close to EUR 20 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union (EU) and the World Bank. The success of the macroeconomic reform program and medium term balance of payments sustainability also depends significantly on the continued involvement of all banks operating in or with Hungary, including foreign-owned banks.

The parent banks of the six largest foreign banks incorporated in Hungary (Bayerische Landesbank, Erste Group Bank AG, Intesa SanPaolo, KBC Group, Raiffeisen International Bank Holding and UniCredit Bank Austria AG) made a joint declaration on maintaining their overall exposure to the country and to ensure prudent capitalisation of their subsidiaries (see Concluding Statement by participating banks ). They agreed to continue close cooperation with a view to making progress towards making bilateral commitments in this respect. Along with the continued international financial support, this will help Hungary's banking system to weather the current crisis better, strenghten investor confidence, and return the economy to a robust growth path.

The European Banking Group Coordination Meeting for Hungary was jointly chaired by the European Commission and IMF. The World Bank Group, the EBRD, the EIB, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority, home country banking supervisors and/or ministries of finance (Austria, Belgium and Italy) and the European Central Bank (ECB) also attended the meeting