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 Hungarian National Bank building onLiberty Square (Budapest) | |
| Headquarters | Liberty Square,Budapest,Hungary |
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| Coordinates | 47°30′13″N19°3′7″E / 47.50361°N 19.05194°E /47.50361; 19.05194 |
| Established | 24 June 1924; 101 years ago (1924-06-24) |
| Ownership | 100%state ownership[1] |
| Governor | Mihály Varga |
| Central bank of | Hungary |
| Currency | Hungarian forint HUF (ISO 4217) |
| Reserves | $41.3 billion |
| Bank rate | 6.50% (September 2024)[2] |
| Interest on reserves | 0.90% (May 2016) |
| Interest paid on excess reserves? | Yes |
| Preceded by | Austro-Hungarian Bank |
| Website | www |
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TheHungarian National Bank (Hungarian:Magyar Nemzeti Bank[ˈmɒɟɒrˈnɛmzɛtiˈbɒŋk],MNB) is thecentral bank ofHungary and as such part of theEuropean System of Central Banks (ESCB). It was established in 1924 as a successor entity of theAustro-Hungarian Bank, under the economic assistance provided to Hungary by theEconomic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations. The bank calls itself theMagyar Nemzeti Bank in its English communications and occasionally clarifies that name with the expressionthe central bank of Hungary. The bank doesn't call itself theHungarian National Bank in English.
The Hungarian National Bank lays special emphasis on its international relations and on participation in the professional forums of international economic institutions and financial organisations (EU, IMF, OECD, BIS). Its principal aim isprice stability, but it is also responsible for issuing the national currency, theHungarian forint, controlling the moneyin circulation, setting the Central Bank base rate, publishing official exchange rates, and managing theforeign-exchange reserves and gold to influenceexchange rates.
The MNB is the dominant shareholder of theBudapest Stock Exchange and of theKELER Group, afinancial market infrastructure.
UnderEuropean Union policy frameworks, the MNB is a voting member of the respective Boards of Supervisors of theEuropean Banking Authority (EBA),[3]European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA),[4] andEuropean Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).[5] It provides the permanent single common representative for Hungary in the Supervisory composition of the General Board of theAnti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).[6] It is also a member of theEuropean Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).[7]
For a short period during theHungarian Revolution of 1848, the revolutionary government used the recently establishedHungarian Commercial Bank of Pest as a central bank.[8]
In the negotiation of theAustro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the matter of the dual monarchy's central bank and its governance was set aside with the understanding that it would be reformed in the future. Meanwhile, in 1873 theHungarian General Credit Bank received a mandate from the recently created finance ministry for a range of transactions, which made it effectively the main banker of the Hungarian government;[9]: 156 that role was reinforced and extend by successive acts in 1886, 1901, and 1915.[9]: 158
The adaptation of the pre-existing Austrian National Bank's to the monarchy's new political structure was only finalized in 1878, when its name was changed toAustro-Hungarian Bank. The latter was given a unitary governance with a general meeting (German:Generalversammlung) and governing council (German:Generalrat) chaired by a Governor, but a dual operating structure with two separate executive teams (German:Direktionen) and head offices (German:Hauptanstalten) inVienna andBudapest.[10] The governor was to be jointly nominated by the respective ministers of finance ofAustria andHungary, and the bank was statutorily committed to opening new branches on an equitable basis in both parts of the Habsburg Monarchy. Hungarian nationalists were not satisfied by these arrangements and kept advocating for a separate Hungarian central bank, but their efforts remained unsuccessful until the end of the joint monarchy.[11]: 216
The new Budapest head office building of the Austro-Hungarian Bank was inaugurated in 1905. It was designed by architectIgnác Alpár, with sculpture byJózsef Róna andKároly Senyei [hu].[12]
After the chaotic period immediately followingWorld War I, the Hungarian authorities established a Royal Hungarian State Note-Issuing Institute (Hungarian:Magyar Királyi Állami Jegyintézet) on 11 July 1921, which issuedHungarian koronas to replace theAustro-Hungarian krone as the newly independent country's currency.[8] The Institute, however, was under the direct control of the government and found itself unable to controlhyperinflation.
The Hungarian National Bank was established under the conditions of the stabilization loan coordinated by theEconomic and Financial Organization of theLeague of Nations in 1923-1924, based on the successful precedent ofAustria a year earlier.[13] In 1927, the National Bank introduced theHungarian pengő to replace the korona.
In 1930, the Hungarian National Bank was a founding shareholder of theBank for International Settlements. DuringWorld War II and in its immediate aftermath, the MNB was unable to maintain the value of the pengő which experienced the world's worst-ever recorded bout of hyperinflation in 1945-1946. The MNB introduced a new currency, theHungarian forint, on 1 August 1946. The MNB was nationalized at the end of 1947.[8]
Following the Communist takeover and formation of theHungarian People's Republic in 1949, the former operations of Hungarian banks were consolidated into a so-calledsingle-tier banking system with four main financial institutions, namely the Hungarian National Bank, theHungarian National Savings Bank Company, the Hungarian Investment Bank (renamed the State Bank for Development in 1972 and liquidated in 1987),[14]: 386 and theHungarian Foreign Trade Bank.[14]: 382 Under that system, the MNB had no independence from the Hungarian state and also engaged in commercial banking activities. Atwo-tier banking system that focused the MNB on a monetary policy role was eventually re-introduced on 1 January 1987.[8]
The October 1991 Act on the National Bank of Hungary reinstated central bankindependence. The Act LVIII of 2001 on the Magyar Nemzeti Bank established theHungarian government and the MNB as the policy makers determining theexchange-rate regime. Since 26 February 2008, the forint hasfloated freely against the euro.[8]
Hungary was supposed tojoin the eurozone in 2010, which would have resulted in the MNB losing control of monetary policy, but central bank leaders criticized this plan, saying that the fiscal austerity requirements would slow growth.[15] In December 2011 two of the three majorcredit rating agencies downgraded Hungarian long term currency debt to "junk status", due in part to changes to theConstitution of Hungary, creating doubts about the independence of the central bank.[16][17] On 20 May 2016, Fitch Ratings upgraded Hungary's corresponding debt status to BBB− (which is investment grade), assigning a stable outlook to the rating. The upgrade was mainly motivated by, among other factors, high current account surpluses, high European Union (EU) fund inflows, banks' external deleveraging, the central bank's self-financing programme and foreign currency mortgage conversion reducing Hungary's external debt and financial vulnerability.[18]
In March 2025, the Hungarian state audit office wrote a report[19] finding that the bank, and it's leader,György Matolcsy took part in laundering of 500 billion forints (approximately 1,2 billion euros) worth of money. It has been described in Hungarian media as the biggest bank robbery in world history, as it has surpassed Saddam Hussein 1b$ heist of the national bank of Iraq, which is often mentioned as such.
The Governor of the Hungarian National Bank is appointed by thePresident of Hungary at the proposal of thePrime Minister for a six-year term. The most important decision-making body of the Hungarian National Bank is the Monetary Council. Its building is located inLiberty Square, in theInner City ofBudapest, next to the U.S. Embassy building.
The MNB maintains a medium-terminflation target of around 3%. This is somewhat higher than the generally accepted level ofinflation for price stability in Europe, and it is used in order to allow for Hungary's "price catch-up" to the rest of Europe.[20] Hungary's Central Bank Act states, "The primary objective of the MNB shall be to achieve and maintain price stability. Without prejudice to its primary objective, the MNB shall support the economic policy of the Government using the monetary policy instruments at its disposal". In 2021, the MNB-mandate changed to include sustainability targets, however, green lending has not picked up in Hungary.[21]
Demonetised or damaged currency can be exchanged in the bank's head office as well as its two regional offices.
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(in Hungarian and English)47°30′12.78″N19°3′8.32″E / 47.5035500°N 19.0523111°E /47.5035500; 19.0523111
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