Hungary has sold a controlling stake in MKB Bank, local press claimed on March 29. However, the new owner of the country's fourth largest lender will not be revealed until the summer.
Hungary accepted a binding bid for the lender last week, Portfolio.hu reports, citing unnamed sources, and MKB Bank has now changed hands. The list of potential bidders for MKB, which was bought by the state and put under the management of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) in 2014, dropped from five to just two last week, Vilaggazdasag reported. The final list consisted of two private equity funds, according to the newspaper.
However, speculation has risen that the MNB itself may have bought MKB via six non-profits, using foreign private equity funds as cover. Both MNB Deputy Governor Marton Nagy, and the foundations set up by the central bank, rejected the claims to vg.hu.
The government bought MKB from Germany's BayernLB for €55mn, claiming it would reprivatise the bank soon. The European Commission gave the go-ahead for the Hungarian government to provide aid for the restructuring of the bank in December. According to that deal, MKB must be listed by the end of 2019; the MNB has said it wants to offload a majority stake by this June.
Related Articles
EBRD extends €100mn in risk-sharing support to two Ukrainian banks
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed portfolio risk-sharing facilities with two Ukrainian banks, UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group and ProCredit Bank Ukraine (PCBU). The ... more
Austria’s RBI ups profit in Russia in 1Q25
Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) increased its pre-tax profit in Russia in 1Q25 by over 25% year on year to €575mn ($651mn) due to the stronger ruble, Reuters reports. In ... more
Erste Group buys 49% of Santander’s Polish unit for €6.8bn
Erste Group acquired a 49% stake in Santander’s Polish bank for approximately €6.8bn, the Austrian lender said on May 5. The Austrian bank, the country’s largest, also agreed to purchase 50% ... more
Most Read
-
Armenia courts African countries to supply diamond industry
18 days ago
-
Russia’s Alrosa finds its largest diamond ever, as Mirny mining operations restart
1 day ago
-
COMMENT: Embracing “Greater Central Asia” has become a strategic imperative for US
12 days ago
-
From blood diamonds to critical minerals: Sierra Leone’s mining transformation
18 days ago