Savings cooperatives’ market share to double or triple in 3-5 years

Budapest, December 23 (MTI) – The market share of savings cooperatives is likely to double or triple in 3 to 5 years as a consequence of integration, Takarekbank director Levente Szabo told daily Napi Gazdasag in an interview published today.

Takarekbank, which functions as a central bank for the sector, will play an increased role in the integration process, he said.

The basic steps of the current transformation process in the sector are expected to become visible by the end of the first half of 2014 and a new structure will take shape by the end of the year. By 2015, the positive developments will also be reflected in business figures, he said.

Szabo said the government has most probably decided to sell its stake in Takarekbank because it found that the ongoing changes are irreversible. He added, however, that a stake held by the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) in the integration organisation of cooperatives will not be sold, so state presence will be preserved in the course of transformation.

Takarekbank’s shareholders, mostly savings cooperatives, approved the de facto takeover of the bank by the state through a capital raise at a general meeting in August. The move was part of a government initiative to integrate savings cooperatives with the aim of creating synergy and meeting stricter European Union capital adequacy requirements.

Photo: epites-felujitas.com

Source: http://hungarymatters.hu/