The Hungarian Foreign Trade Bank has existed since 1950, when the Rákosi regime renamed the Hungarian Trade Bank of Pest after it was nationalized. The Hungarian Trade Bank of Pest was the oldest Hungarian bank in today’s sense of the word (it was founded in 1840). Under the communist regime, the bank served as an exclusive agent in foreign currency transactions. In 1987, as a consequence of the reform of the bank sector, it was turned into a regular trade bank. It was privatized in 1994 and has remained private ever since.