Orbán: America has promised Hungary a financial shield against "speculative attacks"

“Certain Brussels instruments that could be used against Hungary can now be considered ineffective. The fact that we now have a financial shield eliminates quite a few of Brussels’ plans against us. It’s not even worth pausing to think about. The notion that the Hungarian currency can be attacked, that the Hungarian budget can be put in a difficult position, that the Hungarian economy can be strangled from the financing side, can now be forgotten. That is all over. We have resolved this with the Americans," Viktor Orbán told the sizeable delegation that travelled with him to Washington, during the flight home. Later, Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár also posted that “in the event of a speculative or political attack, we can now count on an American financial shield.”

Neither of them specified exactly what this meant. On Saturday, Válasz Online reported that, according to their information, Trump and Orbán may have decided to create a so-called "swap line," which essentially means that the central banks of the United States and Hungary will exchange currencies with each other, which will also serve as a potential loan for the other party, i.e., the currency may be spent, but if that happens, the amount then becomes a loan, and must be repaid with interest.

However, according to Válasz Online, this is not the main point of such a deal: its primary goal is to support the stability of the more vulnerable currency. From the Hungarian side, such an agreement would mean that the Hungarian Central Bank (MNB) would have significant currency reserves at its disposal if it needed to intervene to strengthen the forint, which in itself would help keep the Hungarian currency stable.

The US also signed a similar agreement with Argentina just before the elections were held there. According to some analysts, the announcement contributed to the victory of Argentine President Javier Milei's party, which is allied with Trump.

Whatever Viktor Orbán had in mind, it is certain that he justifies the move with a potential "attack from Brussels," which he believes would put the Hungarian budget – already burdened by significant interest payments and overspending – in a difficult financial position. The pro-government influencer from Megafon, Dániel Deák wrote: "Brussels is still withholding part of the EU funds due to our country, and with the elections approaching, they are of course trying to weaken Hungary's economic position and the government's economic room for maneuver through financial speculation." In his view, this is why this “financial shield of protection" is important, as it will ensure that “from now on, Hungary will have no financial problems.”

Opposition politician Péter Magyar also shared his thoughts about the "financial shield," saying that Orbán had essentially asked the US president for a multi-billion dollar bailout package. "The United States will be Orbán's IMF. Until now, Viktor Orbán has been so proud that he sent the IMF home after 2010, but with this announcement, he has essentially admitted that the Hungarian budget needs a US bailout package worth many thousands of billions of forints. These are the real rolling dollars! What happened to the grand talks of sovereignty? Where did the Hungarian people's money go?" he wrote on Facebook.

We have contacted the Ministry of National Economy, the Hungarian Central Bank, the Government's Information Center, the White House, and Péter Magyar to clarify the meaning and circumstances of the "financial shield." We will report back should we receive a response from anyone.