The first official milestone in the history of the newly created Budapest Stock Exchange was the government’s decision to give green light for the preparation of the Securities Act of 1989. The draft bill was submitted to Parliament in January 1990 and came into force on 1 March. At the same time that the bill came into force on 21 June, 1990, the BSE held its statutory general meeting and the Exchange re-opened its doors. With 41 founding members and one single equity, IBUSZ, the Budapest Stock Exchange was set up as a sui generis organisation (an independent legal entity). The re-establishment of the market economy during the same time and the privatization of businesses played a decisive role in the exchange’s operations. Even though the sale of the larger state-owned businesses often involved the assistance of strategic investors, the BSE played a significant role in the privatisation of many leading Hungarian companies (including IBUSZ, Skála-Coop, MOL, OTP. Matáv (today Hungarian Telecom), Domus, Globus and Richter).
Over the years, there have been major changes in the operating conditions, organisation and function of the BSE. The first trading floor was in the Trade Center on Váci Street, followed by its move in 1992 to the atmospheric old building at 5 Deák Ferenc Street in District V, where it continued its operations for 15 years. In March, 2007 the BSE moved to the former Herczog Palace at 93 Andrássy Road. In February 2015 the BSE moved to new permises to the Szabadság tér. This offices of BSE are located in the financial centre of Budapest, near to the historical Exchange Palace. The Budapest Stock Exchange currently operates in the Buda Centre of the National Bank of Hungary on Krisztina körút.
The open-outcry system of the physical trading floor that characterized the spot market functioned with partial electronic support until 1995. From 1995 until November, 1998 securities trading took place concurrently on the trading floor and in a remote trading system, when the new MultiMarket Trading System (MMTS), based entirely on remote trading was launched. The traditional “battlefield rumble” of the physical trading floor ceased within a year by September 1999, at which time physical trading was entirely replaced by the electronic remote trading platform of the derivatives market.
The derivatives market of the BSE in futures and options contracts has been available to investors since 1995. BUX (the BSE’s main index) contracts have been available for trading since the start of the futures market on 31 March 1995. In July, 1998 the BSE was among the first exchanges in the world to introduce contracts based on individual equities. Another series of standardised derivatives in the options market appeared in February, 2000 and on 6 September 2004 trading commenced in the exchange’s second index, the BUMIX.
In April, 2002, after twelve years of operations as an independent legal person, the new BSE Council decided to convert to a business association in order to maintain and strengthen its competitive position. Effective 1 July 2002, the Budapest Stock Exchange Company Ltd. was set up (and from April 2006, as a Private Limited Company) and the BSE Council and BSE Secretariat were replaced by a Board of Directors and an Executive Board.
In January, 2010, BSE became a member of the CEE Stock Exchange Group.
On 6th of December 2013, on the occasion of the exchange’s new trading platform launch the stock exchange trading was ceremonially opened by Mihály Varga, Minister for National Economy. That day the new Xetra trading system replaced the system that has been in use for 15 years.
On 20 November 2015 MNB as the central bank of Hungary concluded a sales contract with the Austrian CEESEG AG and Österreichische Kontrollbank AG, the entities that to date held a 68.8 per cent ownership in the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE). With this transaction the MNB obtained controlling ownership in the national stock exchange.
The nationally owned stock exchange - in line with the expectations of the new owner - stated the priorities for the 2016-2020 period in a five-year strategy for the period in the coming years, the direction of stock market development must be determined.
In the next five-year period, the Budapest Stock Exchange intends to continue its efforts to develop the domestic capital market, which it has already begun, as outlined in the BSE's strategy for the period 2021-2025, published in 2021. The Budapest Stock Exchange's determined aim to increase the role of capital markets in Hungary and to support the growth and competitiveness of companies, considering sustainability aspects, thus ensuring the prosperity of Hungarian households.
On 21 June 2023, the Budapest Stock Exchange entered the BSE Standard category on the 33rd anniversary of its re-establishment, as the next step in the development of the stock exchange. The main objective of the listing is to promote the benefits of going public among domestic medium-sized companies, while supporting the objectives of the owners and the international ambitions of the Exchange.