EU urged to probe Hungary mortgage move

Two-thirds of Hungarian mortgages are in Swiss francs – taken out to take advantage of low interest rates, mostly when the Swiss currency was weaker. The franc’s sharp gains against Hungary’s forint have left many borrowers struggling to make repayments.

But the plan agreed by ther Hungarian parliament in September 2011 to ease the burden on borrowers has caused the most serious clash to date between foreign businesses and the unorthodox economic policies of the government of Viktor Orban. Investors had already been unsettled in 2010 by the largest banking levy in the EU, and retroactive 'crisis' taxes imposed on the telecoms, energy and retail sectors.

ESO: Background information: State aid: Commission approves Hungarian Mortgage Support Scheme to help households affected by financial downturn http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-state-aid-commission-approves-hungarian-mortgage-support-scheme-to-help-households-affected-by-financial-downturn/

ESO: Background information: Hungary tax move alarms investors http://www.europeansources.info/record/hungary-tax-move-alarms-investors/

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