The forint’s trading on Thursday initially stabilized, but the exchange rate weakened throughout the day due to the international mood and expectations regarding US labor market data. Important factors include the US-Iran negotiations, the price of oil, and expected interest rate changes by the Japanese and US central banks. The KSH’s unfavorable industrial and retail data also affected the forint, while demand for Hungarian government bonds remained stable.
The Erste Bank’s net profit for the first half of the year decreased by 20 percent, reaching 55.7 billion forints, compared to 69.2 billion forints last year. The main reason for the decline was the significant impact of the extraordinary profit tax, which amounted to 37.6 billion forints. Despite this, lending activity increased: the volume of new loans increased by 75 percent, while consumer lending reached a record high, and the proportion of non-performing loans decreased to 1.4 percent.
The OTP’s second-quarter profit was reduced by approximately 80 billion forints due to extra items, but the underlying trends remained strong. The bank has a significant market share in domestic lending products, and its coverage ratio is outstanding in the region. The acquisition of Luminor could make it a significant player in the Baltics, creating opportunities to increase profitability and reduce costs.
Democrat Senator Ron Wyden urged federal authorities to investigate major banks over the handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s accounts. According to the senator’s four-year investigation, several financial institutions violated anti-money laundering laws by failing to report suspicious financial activity associated with the convicted sex offender in a timely manner.
AMD achieved record revenue, and its data center business has more than doubled. The company exceeded expectations, yet the stock fell nearly 8 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
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