Posted by: József Tóth Posted on: Thursday 30 July 2009, 17:00

Each year the Hungarian Business Network organises a discussion evening á la House of Commons featuring a hot topic with relevant experts.

On the 28th of April more than 70 people gathered for the fourth time at the Hungarian Embassy to discuss the theme of the evening: ‘Banking sector and the financial crisis in Hungary and the Netherlands’. The aim of HBN was to face the theory to the practice and compare the Hungarian experiences with the Dutch ones and discussing the possibilities for the entrepreneurs with interests in Hungary and the Netherlands.

After the welcoming words of Dr. Iván Udvardi, the Ambassador of Hungary in the Netherlands, Mr. Gerorges de Meris, financial sector specialist from Ernst&Young and moderator of the evening introduced the topic and the two guest speakers.

Mr. Elemér Terták, the Director of the European Commission Financial Institutions, who came over from Brussels for this event was presenting the theoretical side of the financial crisis on a European Union level. In his presentation he highlighted the basic reasons of the current financial crisis, a brief history of the last years from a financial point of view. His presentation was full with different symbols from art and culture to make this topic more feasible to the ones who are not financial experts.

The second presentation was held by a top banker, Mr Rob Rühl, from ING Economics Department. After the theory on the influence of the financial crisis in the Central and Eastern European countries he took a note on the practical side, explaining how the crisis effects banking institutions, and in special how ING Bank -one of the largest Dutch bank with global interests- deals with the current challenges.

After the presentations many questions were asked about the future of the bank system, and predictions about the end of the crisis. The quest speakers agreed on the fact that the main grounds of the bank system are not shaken and will not change in the future. Their opinions were different about the shape of the crisis (V or U) however both felt that we have not reached the bottom yet.

The discussion was closed with a toast for the 4th anniversary of HBN and a tasteful Hungarian dinner where everyone got the chance to share opinions and business cards.

HBN is grateful for all the contributions turning this evening into a successful HBN event. We would like to thank the quest speakers, the Embassy for the location, the Hongaars Verkeersbureau for the gift, and all our sponsors.

Tekst: HBN