OTP bank becomes main shareholder of Ipotekabank

Hungarian OTP Bank bought 75% of Ipotekabank. As part of the deal, the transaction was carried out, and on June 13, the bank was transferred to the OTP Bank management, the press service of Ipotekabank reported.

OTP Bank will buy the remaining 25% of the shares currently in the hands of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan within a period of 3 years.

Since the end of 2020, OTP bank has been negotiating with the government of Uzbekistan on the possibility of participating in the privatization of the country’s banking sector. In December 2022, in the city of Tashkent, the parties signed a sale and purchase agreement regarding the purchase by OTP Bank of 100% of the state-owned Ipotekabank (the share of common bank shares is approximately 98%) of the country’s fifth largest financial services institution.

On June 13, 2023, the transaction was carried out within the framework of the agreement.

“OTP Bank has become the main shareholder of Ipotekabank with 73.41% ownership, and indirectly the owner of “Ipoteka Leasing” and “Imkon-Sugurta” companies that offer insurance services belonging to the bank.

According to the bank’s message, the goal after the transaction is to carry out a successful integration process. It is added that this transaction (related to the transfer of ownership) does not require any actions from the clients of Ipotekabank and they will be provided with timely information about the changes related to the integration processes.

The transaction value was not disclosed. However, earlier, at the meeting held with the participation of the president on privatization issues, it was announced that OTP bank bought Ipotekabank for $324 million.

When signing the purchase agreement in December 2022, the parties stated that after the privatization of Ipotekabank, its name will remain unchanged.

About the OTP group

OTP Group is one of the leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe. The group with more than 41 thousand employees in 12 countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe provides universal financial services to more than 17.5 million customers.

As an active financial consolidator in the banking sector of the Central and Eastern European region, the group has acquired and merged 23 banks since 2000. Currently, the bank is the market leader in Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Headquartered in Hungary, OTP Group has been listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange since 1995.