Budapest OTP execs: Subsidiaries will grow further only if they attract deposits

OTP Bank, the largest Hungarian financial group, will preserve the current level of funding for the Romanian branch, but will not fuel further increases in the volume of the loan portfolio, according to Laszlo Wolf, deputy chief executive officer of the group. “We are trying to reduce the credit/deposit ratio on all markets where we operate. OTP Bank subsidiaries can develop their businesses only inasmuch as they attract deposits on the Romanian market. We will preserve the current level of funding,” Wolf told ZF. OTP Bank had assets worth 1.3 billion euros in December last year (which included assets transferred to the group), making it a medium-sized player on the Romanian market. At group level, OTP intends to freeze the volume of credits granted this year. In Hungary, OTP has taken out a 1.4 billion-euro loan from the state, with the funds to be channelled towards medium-sized companies. On the Romanian market, OTP Bank has managed to increase the volume of deposits attracted and plans to speed up lending on the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises, planning for it to amount to at least 10 million euros per month, according to Laszlo Diosi, head of the bank. Hungarian group OTP Bank entered the Romanian market in 2004, by the acquisition of a small player, RoBank. In a few years’ time, a financial group has been built around the bank, with insurance operations and leasing companies being launched, with OTP also being involved in other operations – pension fund management, asset management and financial consulting. “We would consider selling all non-core operations, but at this time there are no prospective buyers willing to pay an acceptable price. Our leasing operations are not significant when compared with the bank and we decided to make this business line profitable,” Wolf said.