SMEs look to 2026 with positive expectations and growing confidence

According to the recent survey, the proportion of those who expect public charges to increase in the next twelve months has decreased. While 64 percent of company managers expected an increase in the second quarter of 2025, this proportion has now decreased to 56 percent. At the same time, 29 percent of businesses see public charges remaining unchanged in the coming period, while 6 percent expect a decrease – this proportion has doubled in the past six months.

The most optimistic are companies with annual revenue between 101 and 300 million forints. Their leaders expect a more favorable than average turn in public charges over the next year, with only 52 percent expecting an increase. They are followed by companies with annual sales between 20 and 100 million forints, 57 percent of whom expect an increase, and the largest companies with annual sales between 300 million and 2 billion forints, 59 percent of whose managers expect increasing public charges.

Among businesses, the proportion of those who believe that public charges and their developments negatively affect their company’s situation is decreasing, while the proportion of those who specifically expect a positive turn and anticipate its effects is increasing. The development of the data may also have been influenced by the perception of the business-friendliness of government measures: in the last quarter of 2025, the indicator stood at +7 points, which is a 14-point improvement compared to the result a year ago.

“The results show that the adaptability and positive future vision of the entrepreneurial sector are strengthening,” commented on the data by Zoltán Rammacher, Marketing Manager of the K&H Retail and SME segment. “The improvement in expectations regarding public charges may reflect that businesses are planning for the longer term, thinking about investments and growth – which is key to the further development of the SME sector. Positive expectations can provide a strong basis for business decisions and investments in the coming period. In this, K&H Bank supports companies with its easy and fast banking solutions so that they can start their developments on a stable financial basis.”

About the K&H Group

As one of the country’s leading financial institutions and employing more than 3,900 employees nationwide, K&H aims to provide convenient and personalized services to Hungarian customers. K&H operates 190 retail customer points and 640 ATMs nationwide, offering financial services to more than 1.7 million customers at the group level.The group supports the Hungarian economy with a value of over HUF 4,400 billion through various financing products for the population, small businesses, companies and municipalities. K&H Group also actively cooperates with around 2,400 Hungarian suppliers and 700 banking and insurance intermediaries.