Leasing Market Continued to Expand in Hungary in Q1

The leasing market continued to expand in Hungary in the first quarter of 2026, with both the volume of new financing and the number of contracts on the rise, the Hungarian Leasing Association told MTI on Tuesday.

The total value of new financing approached HUF 222 billion, representing a 6% year-over-year increase. The number of contracts rose by 2.5% to 19,019. 82% of transactions financed new assets. The total value of the portfolio grew by 7% to HUF 2,440 billion, while the number of contracts in the portfolio decreased by 1% to 308,507.

Corporate clients account for 90% of the market share, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) making up 75% of that segment. Retail financing has strengthened, with a market share of 9.5%, and based on the number of contracts, it accounts for more than 20%; in passenger car financing, it exceeded one-third of the total, the report stated.

According to the announcement, 83% of the transactions were financial leases, with USD 125 billion in closed-end leases and HUF 60 billion in open-end leases. Loan financing linked to state and EU-subsidized schemes also rose, reaching 5% of the market with HUF 11.5 billion in the first quarter; subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy contributed significantly to this growth.

Operating leases, with a total value of HUF 25 billion, accounted for 11% of the market; these transactions were primarily related to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, mainly through fleet management companies. The share of foreign currency-based financing remains high, with 30% of new financing volume and 15.4% of contracts being euro-denominated. Their share in passenger car and light commercial vehicle financing is smaller, but they have long been dominant in the heavy commercial vehicle market and are also significant in the case of other machinery.