Hungary’s OTP Bank sees Central Asia as one of its priority regions for business expansion and mergers and acquisitions, according to the group’s full-year 2025 results.
The report highlights that the bank is prioritizing organic growth while continuing to pursue value-creating deals both across its current footprint and beyond.
«Management continues to look for potential value-creating M&A opportunities both within and beyond the existing geographical footprint. Central Asia is one particular region the Management is focusing on given its high growth potential,» the report said.
The group’s interest in the region is reflected in its actions — OTP has owned Uzbekistan’s Ipoteka Bank since the summer of 2023.
Plans for Kazakhstan under discussion since 2025
OTP Bank’s potential entry into the Kazakhstani market was first announced in September 2025, when Madina Abylkassymova, chair of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), told Kursiv.media that one of the Eastern European banks was considering acquiring a Kazakhstani market player.
Later, economist Galim Khussainov suggested that the potential acquisition target could be ForteBank.
In October of the same year, it emerged that the bank in question was Hungary’s OTP. This was confirmed by Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Hungary Abzal Saparbekuly.
OTP Bank is part of the OTP Group, one of the largest financial groups in Eastern Europe. It operates in Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, Russia and Romania.
