Belgian banking group KBC has completed its previously announced acquisition of OTP Banka Slovensko, the Slovakian arm of Hungarian banking group OTP Bank.

Under the agreement, KBC Bank has acquired 99.44% of OTP Banka Slovensko’s shares. A number of private individuals own the remaining shares.

KBC Bank became OTP Banka Slovensko’s new parent company, through this deal.

The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic approved the transaction.

OTP Banka Slovensko, which will initially retain its brand name, is a mid-sized bank that focuses on retail, micro SME and SME customers.

Next, the legal and operational merger of OTP Banka Slovensko and Ceskoslovenska obchodna banka (CSOB) will take place.

CSOB, which has about 12.6% market share in the Slovakian banking market, is a unit of KBC Bank.

CSOB will help OTP Bank provide professional services to its customers in Slovakia.

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CSOB Bank Slovakia CEO and country manager Daniel Kollar said: “Merging OTP Banka Slovensko into CSOB will substantially strengthen our banking and insurance franchise in the country and further enhance our cross-selling potential with CSOB Poist’ovna, CSOB Leasing, and KBC Asset Management.”

KBC Group CEO Johan Thijs said: “Acquiring OTP Banka Slovensko further strengthens our share of the Slovakian market, where we are already present through CSOB since 2002.

“This transaction is fully in line with our strategy, which focuses on becoming the reference bank-insurance group for retail customers, small and medium-sized enterprises and midcaps in all our core markets.

“I am convinced they will benefit significantly from the future merger of CSOB and OTP Banka Slovensko, as they will gain access to high-quality, modern and innovative financial services enabled by digital technologies, as well as a personal and professional approach.”

OTP Bank chairman and CEO Sandor Csanyi said: “Our entry into the Slovakian market will always be memorable for us, as it was our first step on the path to becoming a regional banking group that is currently active in over 10 countries.

“I am confident that the merger with CSOB will provide OTP Banka Slovensko’s customers with access to numerous additional bank branches, a wider range of services and the support of another large banking group.

“Following the successful financial closing of the transaction, in line with our strategy, we will continue to investigate possible acquisitions actively in the region, primarily in countries where we are already present.”