6.5 percent of borrowers will remain in the repayment moratorium after 1 November, according to preliminary data from the Hungarian Banking Association.

The banking association told MTI: there was no heightened customer interest in the closing round of the moratorium at bank branches. Between 70 and 80 percent of the customer declarations required to remain in the moratorium were submitted online. 

Around 13 percent of customers eligible for the extension indicated that they wished to continue using the moratorium. 

This ratio confirms previous expectations based on bank account turnover data that one tenth of the customers in the moratorium may have payment difficulties, they wrote. 

Once again, they drew attention to the fact that whoever remains in the moratorium will have to pay interest on their debt. Therefore, they encourage everyone to return to paying the previous instalments agreed in their contract if they can. With the economic recovery and growth above the EU average, they hope that many of those who choose to stay in the moratorium until 30 June 2022 will be able to restart repaying their loans in the meantime.

They also pointed out that those who did not apply for an extension now would have to consider their financial capacity, and they can renegotiate their repayment schedules accordingly with the help of their bank. Based on recommendations by the central bank and the banking association, 

the banking sector will now waive early repayment or contract amendment fees when a customer is repaying interest and/or fees accumulated during the moratorium.

Customers can agree to pay higher instalments with a view to returning to the original loan term. In doing so, however, the debt brake rules must be taken into account. The bank providing the loan will help its customers work out the possible alternatives, the Hungarian Banking Association stated.