OTP Leasing: 22m-euro funding in 3 months

OTP Leasing, a member of the Hungarian financial group OTP, granted funding worth 22 million euros within its first three months in business, i.e. until the end of October. By the end of this year, the company estimates it will close contracts worth 40-45 million euros. “We will exceed our original budget, which stood at around 35 million euros, and I think we will also achieve what we have set out to do for next year, i.e. grant 150 million euros’ worth of funding. We rely heavily on our direct partnerships with car dealers and brokers, and, starting next year, we will also distribute our products through our bank,” Mircea Dihel, general manager of OTP Leasing, told ZF. The company’s core business is car leasing, which accounts for 80% of the company’s portfolio of contracts, with the rest being accounted for by equipment funding. “This month or next month, we will also enter real estate leasing, most likely the segment of residential projects. Real estate leasing guarantees a considerable turnover, as well as profit over an extensive period, since these are long-term projects. However, car leasing generates the highest profit margin,” said Dihel. As of next year, OTP Leasing will start its territorial expansion throughout the country and plans to open six branches from February 2008: in Cluj, Oradea, Brasov, Constanta, Craiova and Timisoara.