Hungary raises 2026 net debt issuance plan to $27 billion

Hungary has raised its net debt issuance target for the year 2026 to $27.02 billion, up from an initial plan of $5.45 billion, according to the country's debt management agency AKK. The agency's CEO, Gergely Tardos, revealed that this increase is due to a larger budget deficit and advance financing of European Union recovery funds. AKK has already completed financing 87% of the revised net debt issuance.

Tardos stated that Hungary does not plan to conduct additional foreign currency bond sales this year, as substantial EU recovery funding is anticipated to arrive by the end of the year. As a result, the agency expects the overall forint debt issuance to surpass the original plan by 2.494 trillion forints. With most of the increased issuance already executed, AKK may reduce the volume of bonds offered at upcoming forint debt auctions, Tardos added.

The debt management agency anticipates foreign currency debt to account for 28.1% of Hungary's total debt by the end of 2026, down from 29.9% at the close of 2025. Both figures remain below the government's self-imposed limit of 30%. Tardos hinted that next year's financing requirements could be significantly lower than in 2026, thanks to the government's efforts to reduce the budget deficit in its plan to meet euro adoption conditions by 2030.