The National Bank of Hungary published its Trends in Lending update, reporting a broad pickup in lending in 2025 Q4, with credit institutions’ household loans outstanding rising 14.7% year on year and the corporate loan portfolio increasing 7.5%. The rebound was most pronounced in housing lending, driven by the Home Start loan programme, while survey responses point to housing-loan demand easing from its initial surge in 2026 H1 and corporate-loan demand continuing to improve, particularly for forint and short-term lending. Household loans outstanding increased by HUF 643 billion in 2025 Q4, with new household loan contracts up 81% year on year to HUF 1,304 billion. Housing loan disbursements reached HUF 799 billion, up 130% year on year, including 16,400 Home Start contracts worth HUF 575 billion, which lifted the share of interest-subsidised loans in disbursements from 27% in 2025 Q3 to 81% in 2025 Q4. Banks reported stronger demand for housing loans and unchanged consumer-loan demand, with a net 14% easing housing-loan standards; over the next six months, a net 21% expect housing-loan demand to decline while 45% expect consumer-loan demand to increase. Market-based housing loans averaged 6.4% (APR 6.7%) in 2025 Q4, while the average client rate on new borrowing fell from 5.1% to 3.6% in December as Home Start volumes rose, and personal loan rates declined to around 14.5%. Corporate loans outstanding rose by HUF 608 billion in 2025 Q4, and new non-overdraft corporate loan contracts totalled HUF 1,243 billion, up 35% year on year; preliminary data put SME loans outstanding growth at 6.5% year on year. One-third of surveyed banks experienced higher corporate-loan demand for the first time since 2023 Q2, with lending conditions broadly unchanged, and 29% expect demand to continue picking up; banks linked stronger SME demand to lower interest rates under the Széchenyi Card Programme from early October 2025. The Bank Sentiment Survey conducted in January 2026 showed banks viewed the overall economic situation as unchanged over the prior six months, noting a deterioration in the economic environment alongside a tightening regulatory environment and lower profitability, while expecting an improvement over the next six months.
National Bank of Hungary 2026-02-20
National Bank of Hungary reports household loans up 14.7% and corporate loans up 7.5% as Home Start lifts housing lending
The National Bank of Hungary's Trends in Lending update for 2025 Q4 shows a significant increase in lending, with household loans rising 14.7% and corporate loans up 7.5% year on year. The Home Start loan programme drove a 130% increase in housing loan disbursements, while corporate loan demand improved, particularly for forint and short-term lending. Despite a challenging economic and regulatory environment, banks anticipate increased consumer-loan demand and continued corporate-loan growth, especially among SMEs.