Best bank – OTP
Best debt house – Bank Austria/HVB
Best equities house – Erste Securities
Best M&A house – Deloitte & Touche
Analysts following banks in emerging Europe who were consulted about these awards were enthusiastic about OTP. Some even suggested that it ought to get the award for best bank in the region. That may be taking things too far but there is no doubt that the bank is positioning itself well both in Hungary, where it dominates, and abroad.
Its acquisition of IRB and DSK gives it an excellent foothold in the Slovakian and Bulgarian markets. Its attempts to expand into Romania, through acquiring Banca Comerciala Romana, have so far been frustrated by the Romanian government.
With these moves, OTP is getting the sort of international recognition that few domestic banks in the region enjoy at the moment, and it is probably the best locally owned bank in central and eastern Europe.
Its fundamentals are looking good too – return on equity is slightly down on last year but still strong at 25.9%. Profit after taxation is up 22.9%, and its shares rose 34% in 2002, strongly outperforming the Budapest Stock Exchange, which grew by just 9%.
Bank Austria/HVB wins the award for best debt house in Hungary. It is among the leaders in syndicated loans in the country, having arranged deals for the municipality of Budapest and others.
It is also among the banks that have been mandated to arrange Hungary’s first mortgage bond programme, for FHB, which is an important step in diversifying the country’s bond markets away from sovereign issues. DrKW and Citigroup arranged Hungary’s sovereign issue this year.
Erste Securities wins the award for best Hungarian equities house because it is the leader in cash-traded equities on the Budapest Stock Exchange.
And Deloitte & Touche’s corporate finance team, strengthened by some key hires from CA-IB, has done the most M&A deals in the country. The deals it advised on include Innochem’s acquisition of Syntumex, and TVK HIX’s MBO.
