Why Do Hungarians Keep 12% of Savings Abroad?
- 4 Apr 2024 7:20 AM
- Hungary Around the Clock
Hungarians had a total of Ft 1.7 trillion in foreign bank accounts at the end of 2023, equal to 12% of all retail bank deposits, according to data from the MNB.
Households started taking their money out of the country at a rapid pace in 2011, but the process really picked up in 2022 and reached a historic high at the end of last year.
While the stock of household savings in domestic bank deposits shrank last year due to extreme inflation, high government bond yields and modest interest rates at banks, foreign deposits also increased at the same time.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hungarians – apparently frightened by the conflict and the collapse of the forint – deposited more than Ft 360 billion in foreign banks in nine months. This money has not been brought back since then, and has even increased.
MTI Photo: László Beliczai
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