Two-tier personal bankruptcy could roll out from September

Budapest, May 18 (MTI) – A proposal by the co-ruling Christian Democrats (KDNP) would introduce personal bankruptcy in Hungary in two steps: first to those households in most need of assistance this September, and to the rest of Hungarians a year later, business daily Napi Gazdasag said on Monday.

Under the proposal, a judge would decide what part of the family’s income would go to creditors as well as what part of their debt would be forgiven if the bankrupt family keeps their agreement on repayments for a period of five years, KDNP deputy head Bence Retvari told the paper.

The debt threshold for voluntarily declaring personal bankruptcy would be set at double of the household’s assets and income. Households with bigger debts could not participate.

Even if lenders have already placed liens on a household’s assets, the household would still be allowed to file for bankruptcy.

The proposal will be submitted to Parliament mid-week, Retvari said.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters