OTP group makes historic entry into Uzbekistan's banking market

OTP Bank became the main shareholder of the "Ipoteka-bank". On June 13, the first stage of the bank's acquisition was completed. OTP Bank bought 75% of the shares of Ipoteka-bank belonging to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the remaining 25% will be bought within 3 years.

Uzbekistan is the first country in the Central Asian region where OTP Group is launching its activities, and entering the Uzbek banking market opens a new page in the history of the Group.

It has a 7.6 percent share of the banking market in terms of mortgage bank assets and about 1.5 million retail customers. This transaction (related to the transfer of ownership) does not require any actions from the clients of the Mortgage Bank.

Since the end of 2020, OTP Bank has been negotiating with the government of Uzbekistan on the possibility of participating in the privatization of the country's banking sector. In December 2022, in the city of Tashkent, the parties bought and sold 100 percent of the shares of the country's fifth largest financial services institution - Ipoteka-bank belonging to the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan (the share of the common bank in the shares is about 98 percent) by OTP Bank signed the contract.

On June 13, the financial operation was successfully completed and OTP Bank became the legal supervisory body of Ipoteka-bank. As a result, OTP bank became the main shareholder of Ipoteka-bank with 73.41 percent ownership and indirectly the owner of "Ipoteka Leasing" and "Imkon-Sugurta" companies that offer insurance services.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) in cooperation with OTP Bank will continue to support the financial and transformation processes of Ipoteka-bank in the future.