Nova KBM Acquisition Makes OTP Market Leader in Slovenia
Tupungato/Shutterstock.com
With the recently closed acquisition of Nova KBM, OTP Bank's market share in Slovenia will rise to around 30%, making it market leader, Sándor Csányi, the chairman-CEO of Hungary's biggest commercial lender, said at a press conference on Friday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.
Speaking in Maribor, where Nova KBM is based, Csányi called the Nova KBM deal, which followed OTP's purchase of Slovenian peer SKB Bank in 2019, the "most significant and most complex acquisition in OTP's history".
He noted that OTP is now market leader in five countries in the region.
He said OTP will soon close the acquisition of Uzbekistan's Ipoteka Bank, giving it a presence in 12 countries. OTP is weighing further possibilities for expansion in the region, he added.
Csányi said the integration of OTP's two Slovenian banks will take one-and-a-half years and called the endeavor "a big challenge". John Denhof, Nova KBM's current CEO, will head the merged bank, he added.
A decision on where to put the merged bank's HQ has not yet been taken, he said.
Denhof said both bank clients and staff would benefit from the integration of OTP's local lenders.
The merged lender will have around 1m clients in Slovenia and become OTP's biggest foreign unit.
OTP Group has close to 16 million clients and over 33,000 staff. In addition to Hungary and now Slovenia, OTP is market leader in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Avg Hourly Pay Rate for Blue-collar Workers Climbs 16% in Q1
Bulgaria's Household Income, Spending Rise 20% in 2023
Job Fair and Career Prep at Corvinus Starts Tomorrow
Spago Budapest Offering Unique Sunday Brunch Experience
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
