OTP's Albanian unit 9-mo after-tax profit up 47% y/y

Banka OTP Albania's operating profit rose 75%, reaching 13.2 billion forints, OTP said in an interim financial report.

In December, Albania's central bank approved a merger between OTP Bank and the local unit of Greece's Alpha Bank Group.

Net interest income increased by 82% on the year to 20.1 billion forints, while net fee and commission income added 35% to 3 billion forints in the January-September period of 2023. Operating expenses rose 67% to 11.1 billion forints.

The Albanian unit's total assets edged up to 675 billion forints at the end of September 2023, from 672 billion forints at the end of September 2022.

Banka OTP Albania's gross loans to customers decreased by 7% year-on-year in the first nine months, reaching 367 billion forints, while deposits rose by an annual 2% to 550 billion forints, OTP said.

Banka OTP Albania has been owned by OTP since April 2019. Prior to that, it was a unit of French banking group Societe Generale.

In Southeast Europe, OTP group is also present in Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Slovenia, Montenegro and Moldova.

(1 euro = 377.358 forints)