Hungarian lender OTP Bank has concluded the purchase of French banking group Societe Generale’s Albania unit.
The deal, first announced in August 2018, offers OTP the sole ownership of Banka Societe Generale Albania (SGAL).
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Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Ranked as the fifth largest bank in Albania, SGAL is said to have a market share of around 6%.
OTP now has a reach in 10 countries of the Central and East European region.
Societe Generale Group deputy CEO in charge of international retail banking activities, financial services and insurance Philippe Heim called the deal an “important milestone”.
The deal was said to be part of the bank’s strategy to “develop its presence on markets and activities with a critical size and the potential for generating synergies with other Group businesses”.
Societe Generale expects to lower its risk weighted assets by nearly €3bn through the sale of its Albanian business and Bulgarian unit, which was announced at the same time.
Acquisitions of other Societe Generale businesses by OTP:
Last month, OTP agreed to snap up the Montenegro business of Societe Generale.
This January, OTP completed the acquisition of the Bulgarian business of Societe Generale.
The Hungarian bank also announced the acquisition of Societe Generale’s Croatian and Serbian subsidiaries.
