The MNB, acting as the financial supervisory, has suspended the licences of Buda-Cash and the related DRB bank group, which have common owners.

The MNB appointed commissioners to take over the running of DRB institutions, namely Buda Regionális Bank, Dél-dunántúli Regionális Bank, Dél-dunántúli Takarék Bank and Észak-Magyarországi Regionális Bank.

Clients’ access to their Buda-Cash accounts is blocked and they are limited to withdrawals of Ft 1 million at the banks.

Some 15,000-20,000 Buda-Cash clients and 100,000-120,000 bank clients are affected, MNB deputy governor László Windisch said.

The Budapest Stock Exchange has suspended Buda-Cash’s trading licence and the central clearing house Keler also suspended its licence.

Buda-Cash collected margin calls not only from clients accounts but also from companies owned by the clients or from spouses and relatives, Népszabadság learnt.

Professional circles were not surprised by the news, but merely wondered “why now?” the daily adds.

Any institution that offers more than a 10% yield on bonds is suspicious, Blochamps Capital president István Karagits commented.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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