OTP Bank turns to loss in Romania in first quarter

Hungarian-owned bank OTP Romania made a loss of around EUR 4.1 million in the first quarter of the year, due to lower operational profit and high risk costs; the bank turned a profit in the same period of 2011. Provisions for non-performing loans went up by 39 percent, to some EUR 11.6 million, whilst its assets were slightly down by 3 percent, to EUR 1.5 billion. The bank's non-performing loans were up 51 percent on the same period of 2011, to some EUR 181 million, covering 13.6 percent of the gross value of loans, higher by 1.5 percentage points compared to the end of 2011. OTP Romania has 100 branches and 957 employees and is part of a group that also includes OTP Leasing România, OTP Consulting România and OTP Asset Management România. editor@romania-insider.com