The Act on the Magyar Nemzeti Bank lays down the basic tasks of the central bank, which include promoting the stability of the financial system. A fundamental requirement for maintaining and promoting financial stability is that the parties involved have access to a wide range of information on the financial system as a whole, its competitive environment, and the narrower and broader conditions for its operation. The Magyar Nemzeti Bank's main objective with the publication of this semi-annual ‘Report on Financial Stability' is to meet this requirement, harmonizing with the practice of other central banks. Other important objectives of the Bank are to inform the professional public regarding the state of the country's financial intermediary system and to provide assessments of the sector's stability in the light of important domestic and international developments.

In the Report, the Bank seeks to publish the latest statistical data, widely used internationally, which describe the state and robustness of the financial system in a manner that enables comparison whenever possible. Furthermore, the Bank intends to provide comprehensive analyses of the position of the sectors participating in financial intermediation or influencing its stability, in addition to evaluating macroeconomic developments. In view of the fact that, as a small, open country, Hungary is closely integrated into the international flows of goods and capital, the Report gives separate coverage of global cyclical and monetary developments relevant to financial stability.