Municipal Debt Consolidation in Hungary (2011-2014) in an Asset Management Approach

The purpose of this study is to present Hungarian debt consolidation, its root causes and features in terms of local governments’ asset management. As an additional aim, it intends to reveal the characteristics of the Hungarian municipal system, the causes that led to debt consolidation and the rule-based measures taken to prevent future indebtedness. The study focuses on the effects of debt consolidation on asset management in the Hungarian municipal system, and particularly on the operation of cities with county rights, as they have important regional duties. There are 23 of them with roughly 2 million inhabitants, thus in the aggregate they represent as many people as the capital city. This article reveals the reasons underlying the difficult financial situation of local governments, the solutions and subsequent impacts on municipal assets.