In response to questions from budapestbusinessjournal.com, OTP Bank’s corporate communications team said its Ukrainian subsidiary “continues to focus on the security of its employees and customers, and we will only open branches where this security can be guaranteed.”

In a fast-changing situation as the war unfolds, the comms team said that, on Monday, Feb. 28, about half of its branches in Ukraine were still serving customers. 

“The supply of cash is continuous, compared to the circumstances, although for objective reasons the level of supply in some places is lower than usual in peacetime.”

As for the sanctions taken against certain Russian banks, such as exclusion from the Swift international payments system, the company spokesperson said it could not “responsibly assess or comment on it” at this stage. It did add, however, “It appears that OTP’s Russian bank is not directly subject to these measures, but the expected indirect effects cannot be analysed yet.”

The Budapest Business Journal is contacting several of Hungary’s leading companies to understand better how the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia are affecting their business.

See also “Ukraine Crisis: MOL says Hungary’s energy supply is secure” and “Ukraine Crisis: Gedeon Richter suspends marketing activities in Ukraine.”