Financial Wellbeing Report on Taking Out Loans

Hungarians are becoming increasingly cautious about taking out loans: nearly two-thirds of them did not take advantage of this option in the past year, and those who were forced to do so – as in recent years – turned first to family members for financial assistance, followed by banks, and then friends and colleagues. That is according to the latest representative Financial Wellbeing survey by Provident Financial Ltd., which, involving nine countries, maps out year after year how people view their own financial situation and what factors influence their financial decisions. The survey was conducted in May 2026 with approximately 1,000 respondents per country, aged 18 to 75.

Over the course of a year, the proportion of people in Hungary who took out a loan decreased significantly: according to Provident’s 2026 Financial Wellbeing Report, 63.6% of respondents said they had not taken out a loan in the past 12 months, compared to 49.9% in 2025. This marked a low point over the past five years: in 2022, 57% still did not need extra money, but in the following years this percentage gradually declined, which can be linked to the fact that the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war (primarily record-high domestic inflation compared to the EU, particularly soaring food and energy prices) made it harder for people to make ends meet.

The domestic rate of nearly 64% is significantly higher than the 54.4% average among the nine countries included in the study (Hungary, Australia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico and Romania). Estonians were the least likely to have had to take out a loan (68.3% said so), while Mexicans were at the other extreme, with a rate of just 26.7%.

Borrowing from financial institutions remains severely limited, a situation largely attributable to high interest rates driven by inflation. Provident’s research indicates that in 2026, the proportion of loans from financial institutions among respondents did not reach 15% (14.5%). Admittedly, this is already higher than the 12% figure from 2025. The 2026 domestic rate is lower than the average for the countries included in the study (23.5%), with Mexico having the highest rate (50.4%), while Czechs and Latvians, on the whole, avoid financial service providers even more than Hungarians do – only 13.8% and 13.9% of them, respectively, take advantage of this funding option.

The domestic results of Provident’s Financial Wellbeing survey are further nuanced by recent statistics from the Hungarian National Bank. Based on data from May 2026, the total volume of the credit market exceeded the May 2025 figure by 41%, driven by a remarkable 70.5% increase in mortgage lending and a 31.8% expansion in the personal loan segment. However, this latter growth does not necessarily indicate an increase in the number of borrowers: according to data from the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), the average amount of personal loans from financial institutions rose by 15.9% in one year, suggesting that the market expansion stems largely from an increase in individual loan amounts.

At the same time, the Financial Wellbeing survey also reveals that when Hungarians need money, they turn primarily to their family members: 19.1% of participants who needed a loan in the past year stated this.  This is the lowest rate in the past five years – the outlier in this regard was 2024, at 28.4 percent. The 2026 figure for Hungary is lower than the average for the nine countries mentioned (24.4%) . Here, too, Mexico represents one extreme, where 37.6% of those in need of a loan turn to family members when in a pinch, compared to just 13.8% of Czechs.

It is not surprising that, among family members, parents are considered the primary source of loans in Hungary – spouses, children, and other relatives come only after them – accounting for 9% of cases. This is lower than the 11.1% average for the countries included in the study. The proportion of people relying on parents for financial support is highest in Romania (18.3%) – in contrast, only 7.3% of Czechs take advantage of this option. In Hungary, family loans are followed by loans from financial institutions (14.5%) – 4% of respondents turned to friends and 1.4% to colleagues for financial assistance in the past year.