OTP: We will make a profit in Q3

OTP Bank, the local subsidiary of the largest Hungarian financial group, will derive a profit in the third quarter (Q3), for the first time in the last three years. The Hungarians entered the local market in the summer of 2004 via the acquisition of small player, RoBank. The bank started to see losses in 2005, amid high costs related to territorial expansion and to business development. “By the end of the year, we will recover the first-half losses, and will end the year with a small profit. It is a natural step, given that revenues have risen faster than expenses. For 2009, we are expecting a much higher profit, “says Laszlo Diosi, general manager of OTP Bank. At the end of last week, information emerged in the central press, according to which the OTP group was considering selling its Romanian operations, which had not, for the time being, proven profitable. “The OTP group does not intend to sell OTP Bank Romania,” said Laszlo Urban, CFO of the group.