OTP Bank Nyrt, the parent bank of the Moldovan branch, leads 2023 ranking of best performing banks in Europe according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

OTP Bank was propelled to the top by particularly strong lending margins driven by higher interest rates.

The bank increase earning-asset yields faster than funding costs due to the high policy interest rate (13%), maintained in Hungary for much of 2023. At year-end, OTP Bank posted a net interest margin of 3.92%, the highest of any major European lender.

According to  David Hayes, manager, Global Financial Institute Research, S&P Global Market Intelligence. elevated interest spreads and strong non-interest income performance helped drive profitability of Central European banks, pushing them to the top of the performance rankings.

The European Banking Ranking, published by S&P Global Market Intelligence in July, assessed the 50 Europe’s 50 largest publicly traded banks by assets according to seven weighted financial metrics including return on average equity, net interest margin, noninterest income/average assets, cost-to-income, problem loan ratio, net stable funding ratio and common equity Tier 1 ratio to determine a relative performance score. *

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OTP Group is one of the fastest growing banking groups and one of the leaders in the Central and Eastern European region, with an outstanding profitability indicator and a stable capital and liquidity position. With more than 41,000 employees currently in 12 countries in the CEE and Central Asia region, the Group provides universal financial services to more than 17.5 million customers. As the most active banking integrator in the Central and Eastern Europe region, the Group has successfully acquired and integrated 23 banks since the early 2000s to date. The bank is the market leader in Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia. OTP Group is listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange since 1995.

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^{*The article was originally published by} S&P Global Market Intelligence.