OTP Bank strikes major deal with France’s Groupama

OTP Bank of Hungary released a statement Monday saying that it was going to sell its Garancia insurance arm to French-based Groupama. The French company also agreed to take eight-percent stake at OTP Bank.

Photo: OTP Bank strikes major deal with France’s Groupama

Groupama will purchase OTP’s insurance contracts in such European countries as Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria. The two companies also plan to expand cooperation to cross-sell their products in the countries which are covered by OTP operations.

Deutsche Bank took a nearly five-percent stake in OTP within the scope of the deal. The stake will be sold to Groupama.

OTP Bank is the biggest commercial bank in Hungary, operating in Central and Eastern Europe. The bank operates over 1000 banks, and serves over 10 million customers in 8 countries.

Hungarian billionaire Mr Sandor CSANYI, estimated to have a net worth over USD 1 Bn, acts as the Chairman & CEO of the bank.

OTP stands for Orszagos Takarekpenztar (National Savings Bank) which indicates the state-owned origin of the bank.

Groupama Insurances is a major insurance company in the United Kingdom, with a head office in London. It has branches in Croydon, Manchester, Portsmouth, Borhamwood, and recently Letchworth, following its acquisition of Clinicare Insurance in 2005.

It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Groupama France, one of the largest insurance companies in Europe.

It was created by the merger of Lombard Insurance and Gan Insurance, when the parent companies, namely Groupama (who owned Lombard) and Gan in France, were brought together in 1999.