The IIB's office building in Budapest - Photo: iib.int

Hungary to quit International Investment Bank

The government has decided to terminate Hungary's membership of the International Investment Bank (IIB), the economic development ministry said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on the Budapest-based bank and three of its senior executives resident in Hungary.

The ministry said in a statement that whereas the Russia-backed IIB had played an important development role in central and eastern Europe, there was no sense in carrying on with its operations following the US sanctions. Hungary is withdrawing its officials from the IIB, it added.

David Pressman, the US ambassador to Hungary, told journalists on Wednesday that sanctions applied to the “Budapest-based, Russia-controlled” bank and three of its senior executives resident in Hungary, including one Hungarian national.

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