imageBUDAPEST: Hungary's central bank has extended its cheap small business credit programme until the end of 2015, it said on Wednesday, adding that the business sector and commercial banks have asked for the extension.

Governor Gyorgy Matolcsy, an ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, launched the stimulus programme last year to help government efforts to boost the economy and has said the programme would be expanded by up to 2 trillion forints.

The programme would have expired at the end of this year. The bank said on Wednesday that so far 16,000 small domestic businesses took up some 1.14 trillion forints ($4.70 billion) worth of loans under the funding for growth programme.

"Assessing the credit demand and supply conditions, the Monetary Council believes it is justified to maintain the programme for an extended temporary period, until there is improvement in market-based lending outside the Lending for Growth programme," the bank said in a statement.

Copyright Reuters, 2014

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