BUDAPEST: Hungarian lawmakers approved a set of radical measures to ease household mortgage debt despite criticism from banks, which expect to foot a bill of several billion euros.
The changes are the latest attempt by the government to help around a million Hungarians whose repayment rates on foreign currency mortgages rocketed after the 2008-09 financial crisis.
The changes oblige banks to keep the exchange rate at the same level as when the mortgage was taken out and prohibit hiking rates on the loans. More measures are expected later this year. Banks, many of them foreign-owned which have already lost money from similar schemes, have cried foul, warning that Hungary’s reputation among foreign investors would suffer. AFP
