For the first time in three years, the Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has lowered the base rate, reducing the effective interest rate a touch more than was expected to 12.25%. The last time the MNB cut the base interest rate was in July 2020, during the coronavirus epidemic, to 0.6%. At the same time, the decision also means that the pace of interest rate cuts has slowed down, albeit only minimally.