National Bank of Hungary publishes Financial and Economic Review issue with research on AI in banking, China’s growth model and reserve-asset risks

The National Bank of Hungary released the June issue of its Financial and Economic Review, featuring studies and essays spanning China’s model of stakeholder capitalism, geoeconomic fragmentation in the Western Balkans, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in banking, alongside articles on gold as a reserve asset, humanoid service robots in banking, and bank account classification. The China-focused study links the close public-private sector nexus to strong growth but also rising debt, arguing that demographic shifts, slower growth and constraints on state-sector financing point to the need for a transformation that reinforces capital market approaches, reduces reliance on real estate investment and redirects savings. The Western Balkans trade analysis finds that regional economies continue to trade mainly with the European Union and each other, while trade with larger non-Western partners remains limited and largely import-oriented. The AI-in-banking review maps commonly used methods supporting processes such as business efficiency and risk management, highlighting regulatory challenges and the importance of transparency. Additional essays assess the physical and transition climate risk profile of gold investments, report survey evidence that banking users tend to prefer less anthropomorphic humanoid robots, and argue that accurate classification of bank account types is a regulatory, technological and business necessity given the potential for unauthorised activity, licensing consequences, flawed IT development and financial penalties. The issue also includes an economic history feature on protectionism and trade liberalisation, plus a book review and a conference report, and is available via the journal’s website.