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Finance Insight: Banks Profits Fall Yet Face Heavy Special Tax Burden in Hungary

• 16 Mar 2026 1:54 PM
• Budapest Business Journal

Hungary's banking sector saw its combined after‑tax profit drop to HUF 1.502  trillion in 2025, an 8% decline from the previous year, even as lending and deposits continued to grow, online daily economic newspaper Világgazdaság reports.

Banks’ special levies rose 18% to HUF 122  billion, transaction fees increased 31% to HUF 539  bln, and the extra‑profit tax climbed 29% to HUF 166  bln, creating nearly HUF 830  bln in additional burdens.

The sector’s branch network shrank from 1,401 to 1,300 locations, yet employment rose to nearly 40,500 workers, 690 more than a year earlier.

By year‑end, the number of borrowers again exceeded 3.6  million, and total depositors reached a record 12.27  million, including 11.34  million retail customers.

 

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Budapest Business Journal

Hungary's largest and oldest source of business and financial news in English. Since 1992 it has presented essential information on Hungarian business life, including international analyses about the country. These days the BBJ newspaper is published every other week, while it releases daily business news online including premium paid content.

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