Hungarian central bank Governor Barnabás Virág steps down
Barnabás Virág's term as vice president was due to expire on 22 June 2026. However, it had long been rumoured that he would not complete his term and would be replaced prior to the elections.
The forint declined in response to the news.
According to reports, Péter Banai will replace Barnabás Virág as Deputy Governor, and will appear before the National Assembly's Economic Committee on 25 November. This news comes as no surprise, as Mihály Varga revealed during his hearing as central bank governor that he was counting on Banai at the MNB. Banai was thus the frontrunner for the deputy governor post.
According to the central bank's announcement, Barnabás Virág will continue to work as a presidential advisor. However, based on previous leadership changes, it is unclear whether this will be his final position. It is possible that he may be entrusted with other leadership tasks in the future.
Barnabás Virág was the Executive Director responsible for monetary policy and economic analysis from 2015 to summer 2020, after which he became the Deputy Governor responsible for monetary policy. In spring 2025, the new central bank management reorganised the organisational structure, transferring responsibility for monetary policy to the new Deputy Governor, Zoltán Kurali. From then on, Virág became Deputy Governor responsible for analysis, money circulation and the central bank programme.
Throughout his tenure as Deputy Governor, Barnabás Virág was the public face of the central bank's monetary policy and oversaw its primary communication strategy.
Péter Benő Banai is a former state secretary responsible for public finances, as well as a lawyer with a degree in economics. He worked at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Economy between 1998 and 2025, and has been the chief advisor to the Governor of the National Bank of Hungary since May 2025.
According to the bank's management, his work in the field of public finance over the past decades has contributed to the stable functioning of the Hungarian economy, making him suitable for the position of Deputy Governor of the MNB.
Cover photo: Portfolio
