Buying banks in light of Hungary’s current social and economic conditions is unacceptable. The price paid for the Erste stake should be used “to make the life of people easier” and help Hungary’s ailing businesses, they said.

Zoltán Bodnár, economic expert of the Liberal Party, said there was “no reasonable argument” for the Erste purchase, adding that the transaction cannot be financed unless the state debt is further increased, putting an additional burden on taxpayers. He also voiced disagreement with the government’s principle that it is in Hungary’s interest that the majority of its banks should be in Hungarian ownership.

Erzsébet Schmuck, a lawmaker of the LMP party, said that the benefits or disadvantages of the deal cannot be evaluated before the final price comes to light. Similarly to earlier purchases, the government could end up paying an unreasonably high price for the Erste stake, she said.

LMP supports that the weight of Hungarian players in banking should be increased, but it is not equal to “collectivisation in all areas”, she said. Such efforts by the ruling parties so far have not been aimed at building financial security but increasing government control and the government’s potential to hold its opponents at bay, Schmuck said.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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