OTP makes binding bid for Nova Banka

OTP Bank Rt has made a binding bid for a 95.59% stake in Croatian bank Nova Banka, the bank said yesterday, the deadline for bidding. Nova Banka is Croatia's seventh-largest bank, with total assets of Euro 1 billion and net assets of Euro 78 million, according to figures from the end of 2003. It has 92 branches, mainly along the Adriatic coast, and more than 300,000 clients. The bank controls 6.3% of the market for retail deposits, and 4.3% for retail loans. OTP has submitted a draft contract of sale along with its bid, which would speed up the acquisition if OTP is picked to buy the bank.