According to the Austrian press, OTP Bank is among the fifty potential bidders who received the information package on the upcoming sale of Austrian bank BAWAG. According to the press, OTP Bank is expected to form a consortium to make a bid, following Banco Intesa, which already announced that it bid in consortium with insurance firm Generali.
Our view:
We don't expect OTP Bank to go through with a bid for BAWAG, as CEO Sandor Csanyi has already commented that the bank continues to seek targets in Eastern Europe and that expansion in western Europe would be premature. We do not expect any price reaction to the news today.