The state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) will make another HUF 100bn in low-cost loans available to small businesses and local councils. The money will be available for regional developments, municipal infrastructure investments and technology upgrades for small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The new loans bring the total available to businesses from MFB to HUF 185bn and the bank will add another HUF 130bn-150bn to this in the first half of 2005, minister of economics and transport Janos Koka said.
MFB expects pre-tax profit of HUF 12.136bn and total assets of HUF 600bn in 2004, MFB CEO Janos Eros said. The profit figure includes a one-off item: HUF 5bn in risk provisions for state-owned agribusiness Babolna's loans. The provisions were removed after the company was wound up.
The bank projects pre-tax profit of HUF 9.5bn in 2005 and total assets of HUF 670bn. (HUF 100 = Ђ 0.4085)
Source: Europe Intelligence Wire
