Radovan Jelasity, the chairman-CEO of Erste Bank Hungary, was elected chairman of the Hungarian Banking Association on Friday, the professional body said. Mr Jelasity replaces Andras Becsei, the CEO of OTP Mortgage Bank, who will now serve as deputy chair of the association.

Mr Jelasity acknowledged the challenges to the economy and to societies presented by the coronavirus pandemic, but said he believes „in the positive economic role of the banking sector as a catalyst”.

„I am committed to dialogue and to shared solutions that are acceptable to everybody,” he said.

„The banking sector is not only an integral part of the economy, but a reflection of it, too: there can be no stable and strong banking sector without a robust economy, just as there can be no robust economy without a strong banking sector,” he added.

Mr Jelasity said he intends to strengthen the confidence of bank clients, raise the international profile of the Hungarian banking sector, foster its domestic reputation and maintain the sector’s continuous cooperation with regulatory authorities.

He said the fast and efficient implementation of economic programmes launched by the government and the central bank are a shared task of the banking sector.

The banking sector actively supports these programmes that aim to re-start the economy, he added.

Other members of the association’s governing body who took their posts on Friday are Granit Bank chairman-CEO Eva Hegedus, CEO of guarantor Garantiqa Eva Buza, CIB Bank chairman-CEO Pal Simak, Takarekbank chairman-CEO Jozsef Vida and Raiffeisen Bank CEO Gyorgy Zolnai.

In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga congratulated Mr Jelasity on taking over as chairman of the association.

He acknowledged the banking sector’s constructive cooperation from the very start of the pandemic in matters such as the moratorium on loan repayments and the increase in the purchase threshold for contactless payments as well as its valuable professional recommendations.