István earned a master’s degree in finance from Corvinus University and an international master’s in management through CEMS, studying in the USA and Germany. He speaks English, German, and Spanish. He began his banking career at Eximbank in investment and project finance, later moving to pre-financing and guarantees. In 2012, he joined Raiffeisen Bank’s Trade Finance team, focusing on EXIM cooperation, refinanced transactions, and product development. From 2014, he led trade financing, municipal, and EU services at CIB Bank. Since 2017, he has headed CIB Bank’s Small Business Division, growing revenues and the loan-leasing portfolio by over 300% while managing more than 55,000 clients. He has also been a board member of CIB Leasing Zrt. and CIB Rent Zrt. since 2018 and teaches at Óbuda University, Edutus, and Budapest Metropolitan University, promoting a risk-aware, entrepreneur-friendly financial culture.