Forint loans could become more attractive than foreign currency-based loans in Hungary if the National Bank of Hungary cuts the base rate to 5.0–5.5 pct by year-end, as expected, Hungarian Bank Association chief Tamás Erdei said in the Saturday issue of daily Népszava.
Rates in the eurozone and Switzerland are set to rise in the second half of 2010 even as Hungary's central bank is seen cutting the base rate, which will cause the gap between the two to narrow further, Mr Erdei said. If rates for foreign currency-based loans are just 3–5 percentage points lower than those for forint loans, interest in forint loans will pick up, he added.
