TEXT-Hungary cbank statement on talks with commercial banks

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Hungary's central bank confirmed on Friday it held talks with commercial banks about the stability of the banking system.

Peter Felcsuti, chairman of the Hungarian Banking Association told Reuters in an interview earlier on Friday that the heads of Hungary's top banks met with the central bank.

Felcsuti said the sector will continue to expand next year despite the global financial crisis, and banks anticipate problems with financing or refinancing will be manageable.

For the interview please click on [ID:nLH51551]

Following is the full text of the central bank on the talks.

"On 17 October 2008, representatives of seven Hungarian commercial banks, accounting for the overwhelming majority of the domestic banking market, held discussions in the Magyar Nemzeti Bank. The participants at the meeting agreed that, although the Hungarian banking sector cannot be insulated from the effects of the global financial crisis, domestic banks are properly equipped to meet customer needs arising from economic growth in the future. The country's leading banks, therefore, hold the view that lending, and in particular foreign currency lending, will continue to grow at an adequate, albeit declining, pace, and with tighter standards than in the earlier period. In view of the different business policies of the banks, the currency composition of loans will change: the share of Swiss franc-denominated loans is highly likely to fall, with forint and euro-denominated loans growing in importance." The banks that took part in the talks: the Hungarian central bank, Budapest Bank, CIB Bank, Erste Bank, K&H Bank, OTP BankOTPB.BU, Raiffeisen Bank and UniCredit.

(Reporting by Sandor Peto; Editing by Krisztina Than and Victoria Main)