“Resources in the Service of the Nation” – Alternative Options for the City Loan of 1925 and Its Spending

Foreign loans acquired a dominant role in the stabilization and reorganization of the Hungarian national economy in the interwar years. The loans lent by the Speyer Banking House opened the opportunity of obtaining development resources for Hungarian cities through mortgage bonds. The localities spent the majority of the American loans on investments in infrastructure and public utility developments. The foreign loans imposed an enduring and significant burden on the cities, but they resulted in substantial and permanent changes in the lives of local governments, they contributed to the development of public utilities, public institutions and to the improvement of living conditions in the interwar years. However, we find significant differences from city to city in the utilization of the loans and the successful implementation of the capital investments. In some cities the repayment imposed a lighter burden and in other places the debt service strained the budget of the city by resulting in a persistent problem. In my study I explored the economic and economic policy circumstances of the borrowing of the city loan of 1925 and the characteristics its utilization.