MBH Bank further strengthened its role in agricultural financing

The statement quoted Levente Szabó, MBH Bank’s Deputy Chief Business Officer responsible for individual service, as saying that the total loan portfolio of the bank’s agricultural and food business – which, in addition to agriculture and the food industry, also includes crop trade and integrators – grew at a rate exceeding the market average in 2024. The nominal growth exceeded HUF 30 billion, the vast majority of which was accounted for by the expansion of the portfolio of working capital loans. He added that the volatility of recent years has had an impact on all areas of the economy, but perhaps agriculture and the food industry are in an even more complex situation due to the effects of climate change, market turbulence caused by the war, or the development of food prices. “The issue of agriculture has perhaps never been so important in recent decades, which is why this area is of particular importance for MBH Bank,” the expert said. The announcement points out that while the volume of total market loans to agriculture-related enterprises decreased by approximately 1 percent in 2024, and that of food industry companies increased by a similar amount, MBH Bank’s loan portfolio expanded significantly in both segments and overall exceeded the previous year by approximately 10 percent. The credit institution thus further strengthened its leading role in the sector’s bank financing: it increased its credit market share in agriculture to almost 30 percent and in the food industry to 18.3 percent, which, when considered as a whole, rose to 25.1 percent in the 1,804 billion forint market.

Subsidized schemes remain popular with agricultural enterprises

MBH Bank also maintained its market leadership in the Agrár Széchenyi Card program: its market share is approximately 78 percent based on the number of transactions and over 73 percent in terms of the contracted amount, and it increased the contracted amount by 17 billion forints in 2024. The bank is also at the forefront of the Agrár Széchenyi Investment Loan scheme, which has a market share of approximately 70 percent based on the number of transactions and almost 60 percent in terms of the contracted amount.

MBH Bank also maintained its leading position in the agricultural machinery leasing market

The banking group’s leasing company, Euroleasing Zrt., was able to increase its market share despite the fact that the end of state subsidies caused a significant decline in the financing of these. The excellent cooperation with the largest agricultural machinery distributors and the effective cross-selling within the banking group played a major role in this. In addition, the credit institution plays a leading role in financing, among other things, crop production, animal husbandry and horticulture, as well as sub-sectors such as dairy production or grape and wine production. It was also mentioned that the first corporate financing implemented by the Large Corporate Agricultural and Food Clients Directorate, which the credit institution was able to disburse directly to a foreign enterprise as a beneficiary, was a milestone in the 2024 results of MBH Bank’s agricultural and food business. MBH Group also helps its agricultural clients with financial, tender advice and business development services, and its company, which was established specifically for this purpose, was renewed last year under the name MBH Forrás Zrt. “The food industry plays a key role in the Hungarian economy and society, and the development and financing of this sector is of paramount importance for economic growth. We are present in this market not only as a financier, but also as a strategic partner, supporting our clients in increasing their efficiency and thus becoming more internationally competitive. A modern, efficiently operating agriculture and food industry are not only important for value creation and export, but also contribute to sustainably competitive domestic food prices in the medium term,” said Dávid Hollósi, Managing Director of MBH Bank’s agricultural and food industry business unit, summarizing the results, according to the statement, emphasizing that MBH Bank intends to remain a stable and strong partner for companies interested in the domestic food economy value chain in the future.

MTI