According to Hungarian daily Vilaggazdasag, OTP Bank is considering a bid for Splitska Banka, which is to be sold off by Unicredito. The article in the daily suggests that Croatia's competition laws rule out OTP Bank's largest regional rivals from the tender. Together with ownership of Nova Banka, the acquisition of Splitska Banka would boost OTP's market share to only some 13% (Splitska Banka has some 10% market share in loans and 7% in deposits in 2004). This latest press speculation contradicts statements, given in an earlier interview with Reuters by Croatian central bank governor Rohatynski, that Unicredito would not be able to sell Splitska to ‘any of Croatia's five leading banks’ (which would include OTP Bank) to avoid unacceptable level of concentration in the sector. Whilst we believe that the acquisition of Splitska banka could be strategically positive for OTP, it appears unlikely to happen, given the recent statements from the central bank governor.