A new volume of economic history studies has been published to mark the 100th anniversary of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank. The book was presented at a ceremony at the headquarters of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank on 5 February 2025. After a speech by György Matolcsy, President of the MNB, Erika Garami, Chief Archivist of the BFL, Kristóf Lehmann and Balázs Spéder, editors of the book, discussed the main themes of the book in a round table discussion.

In 64 essays, 40 authors review the life of Sándor Popovics, the history of central banking and the development of the key economic institutions of the time between 1867 and 1945 in this sophisticated volume illustrated with colour photos and tables. The volume was edited by János Botos and Ágnes Pogány.

The book includes two essays on the stock market by our regular author, Márton Radnai. The first, "The foundation and development of the Budapest Stock Exchange", covers the history of the stock exchange between 1864 and 1914, while the second, "The Budapest Stock Exchange between the two world wars", covers the history of the stock exchange between 1918 and 1945.

The book can be read online or downloaded from the MNB website.

The volume includes the following studies:

Foreword - György Matolcsy
1. The life of Sándor Popovics - János Botos, Kristóf Lehmann, Ágnes Pogány, Ágnes Solti, Balázs Spéder

PART 1 - THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMUNITY OF THE MONARCHY

2. The global monetary system before 1914 - Eszter Szabó
3. The functioning of the economic institutions of the Monarchy - Zoltán Pókász
4. The development of the countries of the Hungarian Holy Crown in the dualism - Zoltán Pókász
5. Portrait of Kálmán Széli - Judit Ágnes Horváth
6. The development of the Hungarian banking system in the second half of the 19th century - Adám Tibor Balogh, Balázs Spéder
7. The organisational functioning of the Austro-Hungarian Bank - Ákos Kárbin
8. The foundation and development of the stock exchange in Pest - Márton Radnai
9. History of the establishment of the Central Statistical Office - Balázs Horváth
10. Portrait of Sándor Wekerle - Ákos Kárbin
11. The significance of the 1892 currency reform of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy - Ákos Kárbin
12. The establishment of the Hungarian Economic Society
and its role in the formation of Hungarian economic thought - Based on the Centenary of the Hungarian Economic Society (Budapest, 1994)
13. The legislative role of Popovich after the 1905-06 domestic political crisis - Attila Korencsi
Sándor Popovics and the Austro-Hungarian Bank - Tibor Adám Balogh, Zoltán Pókász

PART II - FROM COLLAPSE TO THE CREATION OF AN INDEPENDENT CENTRAL BANK

15. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the break-up of historic Hungary - Dávid Hory
16. Public debt and monetary policy before and during World War I - Noémi Végh, Pálma Mosberger.
17. Migration in wartime Hungary - Balázs Spéder
18. The economic consequences of the break-up of the Monarchy in Hungary - Zoltán Pókász
19. The role of Sándor Popovics in the Trianon peace negotiations - Réka Marosné Kecse Zsuzsanna
20. Portrait of John Maynard Keynes - Zoltán Szalai
21 Keynes: Economic consequences of the peace treaty - Zoltán Szalai
22. Demographic consequences of the peace of Trianon for Hungary - Gábor Koloh
23. Territorial inequalities in Hungary before and after Trianon - Gábor Demeter, Zsolt Szilágyi
24. Times of transition: economic and monetary policy from the fall of the Monarchy through the Council Republic to Frigyes Korányi -
Zoltán Szalai
25. The period of the organisation of independent financial supervision - Bence Varga
26. Portrait of Lóránt Hegedűs - Virág Rab
27. unsuccessful stabilisation attempt by Frigyes Korányi - Balázs Spéder
28. unsuccessful stabilisation attempt by Lóránt Hegedűs - Balázs Spéder
29. The Inflationary Economy and the Royal Hungarian State Institute of Legal Studies - Balázs Spéder
30. Product-level price formation calculations under hyperinflation - Pókász Zoltán
31. Daily price developments based on newspaper prices - Zoltán Pókász, Balázs Spéder, Eliza Sülé
32. Portrait of István Bethlen - Judit Ágnes Horváth

PART III - THE BIRTH OF THE INDEPENDENT CENTRAL BANK

33. The foundation and early work of the League of Nations - Patrik Tischler
34. The financial and monetary stabilisation of 1924 - Balázs Spéder
35. The loan from the People's Alliance - Noémi Végh, Pálma Mosberger
36. The role of the Bank of England in the settlement - Eszter Boros
37. Portrait by Montagu Norman - Sándor Nóra Anna
38. Inaugural General Meeting of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank - Attila Korencsi
39. Early history of the headquarters of the Bank of Hungary - Garami Erika
40. Real economic stabilisation between 1924 and 1926: growth or crisis of consolidation ? - Bence Horák
41. The watchful eye of foreign countries: the role of Jeremiah Smith in monitoring the stabilisation process - Zoltán Peterecz
42. The design and introduction of the pengay banknotes - Garami Erika
43. The beginning of coinage in Budapest - Horváthné Rudolf Teréz
44. Establishment of the Diósgyőri Papírgyár Rt. - Gizella Ráczkövy
45. What is the relationship between the Hungarian Mint and the Swiss Mint ? - Zsuzsanna Halabrin

PART IV - THE CENTRAL BANK CHALLENGES OF THE POPOVICH DECADE

46. The international context of the MNB in the 1920s - Eszter Szabó
47. The period between the two world wars in the history of the central bank - Ágnes Solti
48. Operation of the MNB in the gold-based monetary system between 1925-1929 - Bence Horák
49. The critical points of the Hungarian economy between 1925 and 1934 based on the reports of the High Council - Marcell Gránát
50. The institutionalisation of financial supervision in the years following the establishment of the central bank - Bence Varga
51. Credit boom in the second half of the 1920s - András Schlett
52. Early international relations of the MNB: the establishment of the BIS - Tamás Ginter
53. The first two decades of the relationship between the Bank of Hungary and the Banca d'Italia - Balázs Juhász
54. The Hungarian Institute of Economic Research: István Varga's contribution to the development of economic thought in the 1920s-30s - Violetta Mányó-Váróczi
55. Portrait of Farkas Heller - Béla Sípos
56. The prospects of Hungarian agriculture between the two world wars - Bence Horák, Zoltán Pókász
57. The Budapest Stock Exchange between the two World Wars - Márton Radnai
58. Portrait of Kuno Klebelsberg - Gábor Ujváry
59. The global economic crisis and Hungary - crisis interpretations - Bence Horák
60. The events of the bank closure of 1931 - Veronika Katz
61. The impact of the global economic crisis on the supervision and regulation of domestic financial institutions - Bence Varga
62. Portrait of Royall Tyler - Zoltán Peterecz
63. Ten most important thoughts of Sándor Popovics for today - Bábosik Mária Ilona
64. What is Sándor Popovics' message for today? - Barnabas Virág