OTP Bank focuses on retail

OTP Bank’s priorities in 2007 will be continual territorial expansion, in addition to supplementing the universal bank offer on the segments of mortgage credits, cards, investment funds and bancassurance products, according to the plans announced by the parent bank in Budapest. In the next three years, the Romanian branch will continue to focus on its individual clients, as well as on small and medium-sized enterprises, while its involvement in the field of corporate banking is expected be “limited”. The Hungarians see the consumer finance segment as having the biggest local potential followed by mortgage funding, transactions & deposits, and investment & insurance products. The bank’s objectives also include the cost-efficient development of the network and building a financial group structure. OTP Banks is currently in an advanced stage of “expansion”, with the next step focussing on attracting clients and on stimulating demand for its products and services with the help of a solid sales force and an aggressive advertising campaign. In the current development stage the bank still has to work on supplementing its product range (basic mortgage funding included) on developing its consumer credit portfolio, on centralising back-office functions, on developing private banking and brokerage services in retail, on launching electronic distribution channels and, last but not least, on gaining a share of the market. OTB Bank Hungary took over a portfolio of mortgage credits worth 22 million euros from the Romanian branch pressured by NBR’s (National Bank of Romania) regulations regarding foreign currency funding.