Securitisation in Hungary

It is common to blame securitisation for being one of the major causes of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, because pooling and repackaging the assets of the originators made it possible to conceal the real assets behind the security issued by SPVs. Despite its bad name, securitization could be an important tool for the economy. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank published a joint discussion paper on securitization, which “explains how a well-functioning securitisation market can deliver a variety of benefits to issuers and investors, whilst also supporting the provision of credit through indirect channels.” In October 2014, the European Commission adopted delegated acts under the Solvency II Directive and the Capital Requirements Regulation in order to help promote high quality securitization. Furthermore, the European Banking Authority published a Discussion Paper on simple standard and transparent securitisations. 

The situation in Hungary also seems to reflect these changes. Currently there is no specific legislative regime for securitisation in Hungary. Therefore, the transfer of receivables is regulated by the Civil Code (Act V of 2013), and the rules on assignment apply to the transfer of receivables by way of securitisation. However, the Ministry of National Economy in co-operation with the Hungarian National Bank (“HNB”) is currently working on a draft, which is planned to be submitted to the government for consideration. 

Péter Gárdos's article, published in Financial Regulation International summarises how securitisation is feasible under the general rules of the Civil Code. The article focuses on two main questions: what rules apply to the establishing of the SPV and how the receivables are transferred to the SPV. The article is available here.

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