The Hungarian banking group OTP received clearance from the Slovenian market regulator to take over NKBM, Slovenia’s second-largest bank, making OTP the largest player in the local banking market.
The all-clear from the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency comes after OTP signed a deal on 31 May 2021 to acquire the Maribor-based bank from the US fund Apollo and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, respectively hold 80% and 20% of the bank.
The value of the deal remains confidential, but several media have put the price tag at roughly €1 billion.
With the takeover completed, OTP will then merge NKBM with SKB, another Slovenian bank that it acquired in 2019, to create what it says will be the largest bank in the country in terms of loans and deposits.
In addition to stable and profitable operations, “the OTP Group aims to contribute to the development of the Slovenian economy by all possible means.”
It promises to offer “state-of-the-art, fast and convenient financial services, both in the branch network and through advanced digital channels.”
OTP is listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange and is present in 11 markets. It says the takeover now makes it the leading player in five of these markets.
Apollo and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development bought NKBM in mid-2016 for €250 million after Slovenia bailed out its banks with billions of euros during the 2013-2014 financial crisis.
In exchange for state aid, Slovenia committed to privatising banks. NKBM bought another Slovenian bank, Abanka, in mid-2019.
OTP has also expanded into the Western Balkans, setting up shop in Albania and then acquiring Alpha Bank, giving it a significant share of the local market.
(Ela Petrovčič | sta.si)
Source: euractiv.com
