OTP Bank completes the acquisition of Slovenian SKB Bank

OTP Bank completes the acquisition of Slovenian SKB Bank

OTP Bank closed the acquisition of the Slovenian SKB Bank successfully, announced Sándor Csányi, Chairman & CEO of OTP Bank at his press conference in Ljubljana. As a result of the transaction, OTP Bank acquired a 99.73 percent stake in SKB.
This is OTP Bank’s first investment in Slovenia. The acquisition enables OTP Bank to further strengthen its position in the Central and Eastern European region.

At the press conference on Wednesday, Sándor Csányi revealed that OTP Bank’s goal is to achieve organic growth and to possibly complete further acquisitions in the Slovenian market, gaining a market share of 25–30 percent in the long run. The credit institution has acquired numerous banks in the region already; it purchased two banks in Serbia, and also has subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Montenegro, Albania, Croatia, Ukraine, Russia and Slovakia, said Mr. Csányi. At present, OTP Group is present in 12 countries in the Central and Eastern European region.

Last year the Bank’s net income grew by 30 percent year-on-year to more than EUR 45.7 million, which is an outstanding result, said SKB Bank CEO Anita Stojčevska at the event. With a 10-percent market share, SKB Bank is the 4th largest bank in Slovenia. The Bank’s merger into the OTP Group began last year. Rather than increasing the number of branches, the strengthening of digital channels is in focus.

Last year, OTP Group’s results surpassed those recorded in the previous year; according to preliminary data, it performed well in all financial indicators, OTP Bank’s Chairman & CEO Sándor Csányi added. At present, the credit institution has nearly 40 thousand employees and 20 million customers.

It was last December that OTP Bank announced the closure of its Slovenian transaction whereby it acquired a 99.73-percent stake in SKB Bank – the Slovenian subsidiary of the Societe Generale Group –, as well as a number of other subsidiaries.