Hungary's OTP Bank is set to make several acquisitions around Central and Eastern Europe, including Greece, Slovakia and Serbia, as it seeks to reduce its Tier 1 capital ratio from 18.5% to 12.5%. He said plans by the National Bank of Hungary to force lower mortgage margins could cut OTP's annual profit by as much as 10 billion forints, and an ensuing price war among banks could threaten the sector's stability. CEO Sandor Csanyi said due diligence has started on a Romanian purchase; the acquisition of a local unit of Société Générale in Montenegro is almost complete; and preliminary reviews of a Ukrainian bank are under way. The Hungarian government will also be looking at whether to buy stakes in other European banks, such as Austria's Raiffeisen Bank, which was recently acquired by Deutsche Bank.
Hungary's OTP Bank is set to make several acquisitions around Central and Eastern Europe, including Greece, Slovakia and Serbia, as it seeks to reduce its Tier 1 capital ratio from 18.5% to 12.5%. CEO Sandor Csanyi said due diligence has started on a Romanian purchase; the acquisition of a local unit of Société Générale in Montenegro is almost complete; and preliminary reviews of a Ukrainian bank are under way. The Hungarian government will also be looking at whether to buy stakes in other European banks, such as Austria's Raiffeisen Bank, which was recently acquired by Deutsche Bank.