Report: State to merge Budapest Bank, MKB

History

The Hungarian government is ready to merge the two banks it recently bought, Budapest Bank and MKB Bank, to make one large bank, according to a report from Hungarian business day Vilaggazdaság.

Vilaggazdaság said the merged banks would form Hungary's second-biggest lender based on assets, behind home-grown OTP Bank, according to Reuters.

The newspaper said the merged bank would have a market share of about 12% in both loans and deposits. The government has said it would aim to sell the two banks it acquired this year within a relatively short time span. As the government has made it a stated goal to keep 50-60% of local banks in Hungarian hands; the sale is likely to be made to a Hungarian.

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