The financial situation of Hungarians has improved in several respects compared to the previous year: the number of those who have some money left at the end of the month has increased, and fewer people are without any savings. Additionally, more people feel confident about their finances, according to a recent survey by Provident Financial Ltd released on Tuesday.
The representative survey was conducted by Kantar in June this year on behalf of Provident Financial Ltd’s parent company, International Personal Finance (IPF).
Analysts found that 23.5 per cent of Hungarians now have some money left in their pockets at the end of the month, compared to 19.7 per cent a year earlier.
One in three Hungarians managed to save some amount monthly,
although the overall proportion has decreased by 0.2 per cent compared to the previous year. Nearly 11 per cent of them set aside a predetermined amount, while 22.1 per cent could save variable amounts occasionally.
The Provident survey also highlighted that 53.4 per cent of respondents did not take out a loan in the past year. This figure is 2.3 percentage points lower than the previous year, which may be explained by more people being able to save.
The survey indicated that slightly more than half of the middle-aged respondents and nearly two-thirds of the older age group stated that they prefer not to borrow money if possible. Among those who did borrow, the majority (32.8 per cent) turned to their families for help, primarily to their parents. Only 13.8 per cent used loans from financial institutions, an increase of 1.6 per cent from the previous year.
According to the survey, 52.3 per cent of respondents feel confident about their knowledge of financial products. However, 46 per cent do not feel comfortable in this area, a slight improvement from last year when 50.1 per cent considered their knowledge confident and 47.6 per cent were uncertain.
The highest proportion of financially confident individuals (54.4 per cent) was found among the 18–34 age group,
while the lowest (47.4 per cent) was among those over 55. Among residents of large cities, 61.3 per cent felt they had adequate knowledge of financial services, whereas this proportion was only 41.8 per cent in smaller settlements.
The statement quoted CEO of Provident Financial Ltd Viktor Boczán, who pointed out that despite challenging economic conditions, an increasing number of people are able to save regularly. Additionally, those who choose to take out loans do so with greater confidence and knowledge.
Provident Financial Ltd operates under the aegis of the international financial group IPF, listed on the London and Warsaw stock exchanges, and has been a key player in the personal loan market in Hungary for 22 years. IPF has 2.4 million customers in nine countries, with Hungarian Provident serving 230,000 customers with 2,300 employees.
Related articles:
