Finance Minister: Government mortgage rate freeze to save families HUF 30 billion

The government is working to shield families from global price increases, Mihaly Varga said in a video posted on Facebook. The scheme to cap utility bills protects Hungarian households from soaring energy prices, he said, noting that the government had also capped fuel prices.

But inflation is also affecting interest rates, the minister said. In the case of floating-rate mortgages, accelerated rate rises could have added 23 percent, or an average 11,000 forints, to borrowers’ monthly instalments, he added. Varga said the mortgage rate freeze would save some half a million families a combined 30 billion forints.

He said that in the year ahead the government would continue its fight against the pandemic, keep working to protect families from its effects on the economy and work to maintain the advantage Hungary had gained by the relatively early restart of its economy.