HATC SAMPLE EDITION:    Politics & Foreign Relations    Economic News    Business News    Other News of Interest    All stories	16th October, 2025 MNB calls in bank guarantee over HQ renovation The MNB has invoked the bank guarantee of Raw Development, the main contractor for the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters on Szabadság tér. The four-year project was undertaken by the firm of Bálint Somlai, a friend of Ádám Matolcsy, son of the former central bank governor. Citing “unforeseeable and incalculable extreme price increases,” the cost of the renovation rose from an initial gross Ft 69.2 billion to Ft 103.5 billion in 2023. The renovation was completed earlier this year, with Somlai previously stating that only minor warranty repairs remained. According to the MNB, Raw Development missed the deadline for these follow-up tasks, prompting the central bank to call in the multi-billion-forint bank guarantee. Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).
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