Credit Euroization in the New EU Member States

The extent of credit denominated in a foreign currency has been a hot issue in the Central and Eastern Europe since the advent of the Great Recession in 2008, as the risk associated with previous boom of FX loans has materialized. Therefore, this book examines several topics related to this phenomenon. Is the exchange rate regime or credibility of the central bank a main driver of credit euroization? Which obstacles for monetary policy stem from a large FX indebtedness? Is there a significant relation between pre-crisis FX credit growth on one hand, and the GDP growth, surge in non-performing loans or sovereign CDS spreads on the other? These are the main questions which the author answers in his book. Additionally, the author chose Hungary for his case study, as this country’s experience perfectly illustrates how a combination of a loose fiscal and monetary policy as well as banks’ lax lending practices can lead to a serious distress in the economy. A welfare impact of recent government schemes designed to mitigate surging FX debt burden to households is also estimated and related to debtors taking out a loan in domestic currency.