Local media sources are reporting the Hungarian National Bank purchased another office building, just days after it was revealed the bank had acquired Eiffel Palace from the developer Horizon for €40m. This transaction, which was listed in the land registry in June is far smaller, with the bank reported to have paid around €1.4m. Still, the bank’s recent policy on real estate is raising eyebrows. Index.hu claims that the transaction took just two weeks to complete and suggests the bank did not have formal approval to make the purchase. It also points out that prior to the Eiffel Palace purchase, the bank had surprised market watchers by spending HUF 415m on a luxury hotel in Tiszaroff. The national bank plans to use the building to house the Pallas Athena Foundations, an organization it founded as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program.
