The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) as supervisory authority has suspended with immediate effect the operating licence of brokerage firm Buda-Cash Brokerhaz and appointed supervisory commissioners because of suspicious cases that have come to its knowledge, the NBH told. The NBH said it had also filed a criminal complaint with police over the matter. The statement said the supervisory commissioners have taken over the management of the company. The Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) said in the morning that it suspended Buda-Cash rights to trade on the bourse with effect February 24 until further notice but for a maximum of six months. Buda-Cash has held trading rights in the spot and derivatives section. With HUF 149bn turnover, it was the eigth biggest trader on the spot market under double-counted figures of the BSE last year, and, with trades of HUF 268bn, it was the biggest trader of individual stock futures in 2014. Tne NBH suspects that what it has discovered in a comprehensive audit of Buda-Cash Brokerhaz is a series of abuses going back several decades, NBH deputy president Laszlo Windisch said at a press conference in Budapest. The suspicion is that the brokerage firm has falsified all of its reports over the past ten years and is unable to account for substantial client funds. The damage can amount to about HUF 100bn, he said. The central bank has also put restrictions in place at the four banks belonging to the DRB Bank Group (Del-Dunantuli Regionalis (DRB) Bank, Eszak-magyarorszagi Regionalis (ERB) Bank, Del-Dunantuli Takarek Bank (DDB) and Buda Regionalis Bank (BRB), which are closely related to Buda-Cash through their ownership. The NBH has placed a HUF 1m ceiling on deposit payment and appointed supervisory commissioners at the four banks. Mr Windisch said the sudden January increase of the Swiss franc exchange rate is not directly related to the shortcomings found at the brokerage firm although the exchange rate change caused losses worth about HUF 10bn to the company’s clients. He said he was as yet unable to provide more accurate data considering the investigation and the ongoing supervisory procedure. Buda-Cash reported net profit of HUF 584m in 2013, the company’s latest e-filings show. Its shareholder’s equity was HUF 2.656bn at the end of 2013, reaching 16.8pc of total assets. It had off-balance-sheet liabilities of EUR 1.5m on guarantees undertaken at the end of 2013. Combined total assets of the four banks was HUF 180bn at the end of 2013. The DRB bank group had HUF 118m losses in 2013. Mr Windisch said about 15,000-20,000 clients could be affected at Buda-Cash Brokerhaz and about 100,000-120,000 clients at the DRB bank group, who can expect to receive compensation. He said the NBH’s Financial Stability Council believes that National Deposit Insurance Fund (OBA) and the Investor Protection Fund (BEVA) will be able to satisfy the claims.