Rumours are currently circulating that Budapest Bank are planning to withdraw from the Hungarian factoring market. This would leave only two major industry players in Hungary: Magyar Factors and the Hungarian Foreign Trade Bank. There are also unconfirmed reports that Magyar Factors have been involved in discussions with Budapest Bank on the subject of the latter’s existing clients and future prospects.
Even if these persistent rumours prove to be unfounded, there could still be changes ahead for the Hungarian market. A merger has been proposed between the Hungarian operation of the Netherlands-based company ABN Amro and the Hungarian operation of Belgium’s KBC Bank. KBC are in full ownership of the Hungarian bank K & H and consequently also own K& H’s factoring subsidiary which is a member of the IFG.