Hungary Credit Dearth Swallows Resort as Lending Shrinks

At the five-star, 54-room Polus Palace hotel and golf course outside of Budapest, weeds stand on the fairways, an “Out of Business” sign dangles across the driveway and bottles are strewn along an overgrown lawn.

The resort is a victim of drying-up credit for Hungarian companies, co-owner Peter Polus said, which keeps hobbling investment and boosting bankruptcies. This is bad news for the economy, the third-slowest growing among the European Union’s 10 eastern members after Romania and Slovenia.