Hungarian OTP Bank leaves Romania after 20 years

The Hungarian financial giant, one of Central Europe’s biggest banks, OTP Bank, will leave Romania after 20 years of service.

According to 444.hu, the OTP Bank entered the financial market of Hungary’s Eastern neighbour in 2004. Yesterday, they announced they would leave it, selling all their assets to the biggest Romanian bank, Banca Transilvania. The Hungarian media outlet learned that the transaction will reach almost EUR 350 million. The deal is closed, but several Romanian authorities, including Romania’s national bank, must approve it. If they give the green light, Banca Transilvania (which means Transylvanian Bank in Romanian) will convert all OTP bank subsidiaries and integrate them into their network. They even promised to keep multi/bilingual service where it is necessary.

Sándor Csányi, the Chairman and CEO of OTP Bank, said “[o]ur local bank has come a long way in the 20 years we have been in Romania, and we have achieved substantial organic growth in recent years, but it has become clear that we cannot achieve our strategic growth target without acquisitions. And there is little prospect of potential acquisitions in the foreseeable future.”

Market leader buys OTP Bank subsidiaries

Banca Transilvania is the market leader in Romania’s financial sector. Its Chairman of the Board of Directors declared that the acquisition would strengthen their leading position and contribute to the consolidation of the Romanian banking market. He added that they would welcome all OTP clients and employees to the BT.