OTP Bank Enters Romania after Bulgarian Purchase

OTP Bank, the Hungarian National Savings and Commercial Bank, enters the Romanian market following the purchase of Bulgaria's largest retail bank DSK Bank. The share purchase agreement on the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of Romania's Banca Comerciala RoBank S.A. (RoBank) was signed in Bucharest on April 28. The price of USD 47,5 M was determined on the base of in-depth analysis and modelled return calculations, said Sandor Csanyi, President and CEO of OTP Bank. He expressed his conviction that the ownership presence of OTP Bank in Romania, as in Slovakia and Bulgaria, will mean a substantial additional value for business partners, private individuals, corporations, and entrepreneurs. RoBank ranks thirteenth among the 38 commercial banks operating in Romania, its market share measured in terms of total assets is approximately 1 percent. The Bank Consolidation Company in Sofia and Hungary's OTP Bank announced the finalization of the deal to privatize Bulgaria's last state-owned bank DSK on October 2 last year. The sale of 100 percent of the capital of DSK, worth BGN 93 984 000, brought to an end the bank sector privatization in Bulgaria. Hungary's biggest commercial bank was named a preferred buyer for DSK bank after it offered EUR 311 M for 100 percent stake, outbidding Erste Bank of Austria.