Opinion of the European Central Bank of 14 July 2025 on the required reserve ratio of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (CON/2025/16)
Date: 2025-07-14
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: legal basis

ECB-PUBLIC 

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 14 July 2025 

on the required reserve ratio of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank 

(CON/2025/16) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 16 June 2025 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Magyar Nemzeti Bank 

(MNB) for an opinion on a draft MNB decree amending the MNB decree on the required reserve ratio1 and 

the MNB decree on the interest rates related to required reserves2 (hereinafter the ‘draft MNB decree’). 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 

Functioning of the European Union and Article 2(2) of Council Decision 98/415/EC3, as the draft decree 

relates to instruments of monetary policy of a Member State that has not adopted the euro. In accordance 

with Article 17.5, first sentence, of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing 

Council has adopted this opinion. 

1. 

Purpose of the draft MNB decree 

1.1  Currently, the required reserve ratio decided by the MNB is a uniform 10 % for certain liabilities4. The 

option to choose among different reserve ratios was removed in 2023, in relation to which the ECB 

adopted Opinion CON/2023/365. 

1.2  The draft MNB  decree  aims to decrease the required reserve ratio from the current 10 % to 8 %. 

According  to  the  explanatory  memorandum  accompanying  the  draft  MNB  decree,  this  planned 

amendment has two purposes. First, the average interbank liquidity decreased from 2024 to 2025, 

and  the  reduction  of  the  required  reserve  ratio  aims  to  contribute  to  counterbalancing  this  effect. 

Second,  the  MNB  aims  to  maintain  credit  institutions’  lending  capacities  and  preserve  the  role  of 

reserve  requirements  in  steering  short-term  interest  rates  to  ensure  effective  monetary  policy 

transmission. 

1.3  For background, the explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft MNB decree explains that a 

technical amendment to the MNB decree on the interest rates related to required reserves is also 

1  
2  

3  

4  

5  

A kötelező tartalékráta mértékéről szóló 52/2023. (XI. 20.) MNB rendelet, Magyar Közlöny 2023/164 (XI. 20.). 
A kötelező jegybanki tartalék kapcsán alkalmazandó kamatmértékekről szóló 49/2023. (X. 24.) MNB rendelet, Magyar 
Közlöny 2023/150 (X. 24.). 
Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities 
regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/1998/415/oj). 
Article 1(b) of MNB decree 52/2023. (XI. 20.) on the required reserve ratio. The liabilities concerned are all liabilities 
included  in  a  credit  institution’s  reserve  base,  except:  (1)  deposits  and  loans  taken,  the  original  maturity  of  which 
exceeds  two  years  according  to  the  MNB  decree  on  data  provision  in  force;  (2)  debt  securities,  provided  that  the 
maturity of the securities at the time of the issuance exceeds two years; and (3) repos. 

All ECB opinions are published on EUR-Lex. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
ECB-PUBLIC 

needed to clarify that the extent of unremunerated reserves remains unchanged in the percentage 

of the liabilities subject to reserve requirements. Thus, the MNB will continue not to pay any interest 

on up to 2,5 % of the liabilities subject to reserve requirements. 

2. 

General observations 

2.1  As previously noted by the ECB 6, Member States whose currency is not the euro retain their powers 

in the field of monetary policy according to national law7. On the introduction of the euro, Hungary’s 

monetary policy would be the single monetary policy for the euro and would need at that time to be 

consistent  with  the  Eurosystem’s  operational  framework.  Credit  institutions  should  therefore  be 

familiar with the requirements that will apply to them once the single monetary policy is implemented 

in Hungary. 

This opinion will be published on EUR-Lex following its adoption and in any case no later than six months 

following its adoption. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 14 July 2025. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Christine LAGARDE 

6  

7  

See,  for  example, paragraph  2.6  of  Opinion  CON/2022/38,  paragraph  2  of  Opinion  CON/2023/6,  paragraph  2.2  of 
Opinion CON/2023/16 and paragraph 2.1 of Opinion CON/2023/36. 
Article  282(4)  of  the  Treaty  and  Article  42.2  of  the  Statute  of  the  European  System  of  Central  Banks  and  of  the 
European Central Bank. 

2