“Above-average economic growth is necessary in Hungary because of the gap that existed prior to 2010, and accordingly the Government is opening up new opportunities for export financing”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Parliamentary State Secretary and Deputy Minister Levente Magyar said in Budapest at the Exim Awards gala.

Mr. Magyar stressed that the expansion of Hungarian capital export is being facilitated by new financial products, government incentives and simplified administration. As an example, he cited the programme aimed at the Western Balkans and highlighted the opportunities opened by the agreement with Serbia, within the framework of which the budget is preparing some 20 programmes for bank financing.

According to the Deputy Minister, it may seem far away today, but it is not impossible that capital investment on the part of Hungarian enterprises will eventually approach the order of magnitude of the capital invested in Hungary. “The fact that business loans in Hungary are expanding at a higher rate that the regional average, and the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises is increasing at three times the EU average, improving by over 30 percent since 2010, is cause for confidence”, he added.

Referring to global changes, CEO of the Hungarian Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) Gergely Jákli pointed out that new states are appearing in global competition, pushing the centre of mass of the global economy increasingly towards the East. “However, in addition to the challenges, the process is also affording Hungary opportunities, if domestic enterprises succeed in achieving successes on foreign markets”, he added.

In the interests of this, the bank’s CEO stressed the role of “export banks” that link innovation and foreign trade, and promised to continue the product development begun in 2014 and further expand the bank’s range of clients. “Eximbank has achieved a national economic effect of 316 billion forints  (EUR 970 million), meaning a return that is three times the invested amount, and the turnover of its clients is increasing 50 percent faster compared to other businesses”, he stressed.

At the Exim Awards gala, organised by Eximbank and the Hungarian Export Loan Insurance Company (MEHIB), awards were presented to banking partners based on the results for 2018. The award for SME financer of the year 2018 was presented to head of Budapest Bank Cls.’s business section Balázs Toldi, while the MEHIB 2018 award went to head of K&H Bank Cls.’s business division Patrick van der Overloop.

Deputy CEO of Budapest Leasing Cls. Attila Gigacz received the award for best leasing company of 2018, while the award for best bank of 2018 was presented to Deputy CEO of Raiffeisen Bank Cls. Ferenc Kementzey. CEO of Deutsche Leasing Hungaria Cls. Katalin Nyikos won the Exim 25 award in the leasing category, and Managing Director of Unicredit Bank Hungary Cls. Péter Móger won the award for best financial partner institution in the Exim 25 banking category. The Zoltán Urbán award, named after Eximbank’s former CEO, was presented to Deputy CEO of Unicredit Bank Hungary Cls. Miklós Kulbert. The deal of the year 2018 award was won by Deputy CEO of OTP Bank Plc. László Wolf.

(MTI)