OTP Bank Sets Sights on Ukraine's TAS Bank

Hungary’s OTP Bank yesterday announced plans to purchase a controlling stake in another large Ukrainian bank. According to two different reports, OTP’s target is the TAS banking group, owned by former politician Sergey Tyhypko. Interfax reported that OTP had already begun an audit of TAS Commercebank. In June, OTP Bank agreed to pay about $800m for Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine, which Austria’s Raiffeisen group no longer needed after its purchase last year of Bank Aval. TAS group also includes one insurance company. Alexander Viktorov: The drive by European banks to take leading positions in Ukraine’s banking sector is far from finished. OTP is one of the strongest banks in Central Europe and relatively cash-rich.