OTP Bank, Majority Shareholder of Uzbekistan’s Ipoteka Bank

OTP Bank Plc. has announced on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange that based on the share sale and purchase agreement concluded on December 12, 2022 between OTP Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan the first step of the transaction was completed on June 13, 2023.

Consequently, OTP Bank became the majority shareholder of Ipoteka Bank by acquiring a 73.71% shareholding, and became indirect shareholder of Ipoteka Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiaries. As a result of the acquisition, OTP Group entered the Central Asian region, and is the first foreign bank to participate in the privatization of the Uzbek banking sector.

Holding a market share of 7.6% in terms of total assets as of May 2023 and a retail clientele of about 1.5 million, Ipoteka Bank is the fifth largest bank of Uzbekistan. It is active both in the retail and corporate segments, whereas over the past three years the average annual growth rate of its customer loan and deposit portfolio reached 20% and 24%, respectively.

As the second step of the transaction, the remaining shares held by the Ministry will be purchased in three years from now, the announcement concludes.