OTP Bank and PKO in talks over ties

Hungary's OTP Bank and its Polish counterpart PKO BP are negotiating to establish closer ties, both sides said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Polish Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad said he's not discussing the states sale of a 21 percent stake of PKO bank.

"OTP's chief executive met with PKO BP's chief executive and with me. Various ideas were discussed but this doesn't mean anything," Grad told a news conference.

According to Business daily Napi Gazdasag, the one topic for discussion was OTP's plans to buy a 21 percent stake in the state-controlled PKO. When Grad was asked to comment on the idea of selling PKO shares to OTP, Grad said: "We didn't talk about this."

The sale of a 21 percent stake would create a tie-up between central and eastern Europe's largest banks, which would not be controlled by foreign lenders.

Source: Reuters