Hungary's OTP Bank Seeks Acquisition Targets in Serbia
11 Giugno 2012 - 12:46PM
Dow Jones News
BUDAPEST--OTP Bank Nyrt. (OTP.BU) is seeking acquisition targets
in Serbia to expand its operations there, Hungary's largest bank by
market share confirmed Monday.
OTP Deputy Chief Executive Laszlo Wolf was cited by Serbian news
agency Tanjug last week, saying OTP intends to buy a Serbian bank
that isn't in state ownership.
OTP is already present in Serbia through its subsidiary OTP
banka Srbija a.d. Novi Sad, but it intends to expand its operations
there.
OTP is under pressure to boost operations in its non-core
markets, as profitability at its Hungarian home market has dropped
significantly.
OTP's Hungarian operations have suffered due to a hefty
financial sector tax and a government program that allows a
one-time repayment of household foreign currency loans at a
discount.
Write to Veronika Gulyas at veronika.gulyas@dowjones.com