Far fewer companies will have to answer sustainability questions

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 18. 10:31

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Although from July 1, banks will be required to collect more and more data and information from their clients taking out a minimum ESG questionnaire of HUF 500 million, the range of companies involved in the data provision will be much narrower.

According to the recommendation of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), financial institutions will have to request increasingly detailed ESG (environmental, social and governance) data from corporate clients if they take out a loan exceeding HUF 500 million. This means that banks will also evaluate the operations of companies along sustainability aspects. Following the change in the EU’s so-called Omnibus Regulation, the MNB is also significantly narrowing the range of companies included in the data provision.

In line with the Omnibus Regulation, the MNB has also modified the range of companies required to complete the questionnaire. Thus, from July 1, only those companies that are themselves obliged to publish an ESG report or a sustainability report regulated by the Accounting Act and have already prepared their report will have to answer the ESG questionnaire. This means that companies typically do not have to fill out an ESG questionnaire when applying for a loan, as they would have if they had prepared their own sustainability or ESG report.

The collection of ESG data by banks means that larger companies will have to provide increasingly detailed information about the sustainability of their activities. Those who prepare in advance and have a clear ESG strategy may have an advantage when applying for a loan, but it is important to note that the series of questions to be introduced is for data collection purposes, this does not mean that the applicant will be denied a loan.

“We estimate that the scope of the mandatory administrative data collection that will be implemented from July will be approximately one-tenth. Before the amendment, we expected approximately one to two thousand Hungarian companies that could fall under the scope of the regulation, but now we see that this scope could be one hundred to two hundred companies. It should be emphasized that the questionnaire was prepared for the purpose of data collection, there are no wrong answers, for now it arises as an administrative task for the companies”

– emphasized Levente Suba, Head of Sustainability at K&H.