Global Trade Alert

On July 30, 2009, Hungary issued decree 361/2009, which restricts foreign currency lending to natural persons. A mortgage loan denominated in foreign currency may only be granted if the borrower has regular monthly income at least 15 times the statutory minimum wage, and loans denominated in Euros may not exceed 60% of the property's market value (for financial leasing arrangements denominated in Euro, the limit is 65%). If the loans are denominated in other currencies, the limits are 45 and 50%, respectively. Moreover, purely collateral-based lending has been banned: credit eligibility checks are now mandatory.