Kulbergs: Politics Should Not Interfere in OTP Bank's Bid to Buy Luminor
Latvian Prime Minister Andrs Kulbergs stated that politicians should not interfere in Hungarian OTP Bank's plan to acquire Luminor Bank, as regulators are handling the evaluation. The deal is being assessed by the ECB and Estonian authorities.
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Prime Minister Andrs Kulbergs (AS) told journalists on Tuesday that politicians should not get involved in Hungarian bank "Országos Takarék Pénztár" (OTP Bank)'s desire to acquire "Luminor Bank".
According to him, if the European Central Bank (ECB) issues a positive opinion on the acquisition, politicians have no right to interfere. "If all papers are clean, we have no right to interfere in business if it operates legitimately," the prime minister emphasized, responding to questions about OTP Bank's operations in Russia.
The Bank of Latvia has already received information about OTP Bank's intention and is in contact with the Estonian financial market supervisor, who together with the ECB Supervisory Board will evaluate the transaction. Since "Luminor Bank" is registered in Estonia and is one of the large systemic banks, its supervision is at the ECB level. The Bank of Latvia will be able to express its opinion in the ECB Supervisory Board and the joint supervisory team.
The evaluation process may take up to 60 working days after submission of all documents, but the deadline can be extended to 90 working days. According to EU regulations, a final decision must be made within 12 months from the initial application.
It was previously reported that on July 20, "Luminor Bank" announced its acquisition by OTP Bank, which signed an agreement with a consortium of funds managed by the US investment company "Blackstone" and "DNB Bank". After the deal, OTP Bank will expand to 14 countries, increase total assets by more than 10%, and its share of operations in the eurozone will reach 50%. OTP Bank has committed to continuing to support "Luminor Bank"'s growth.
OTP Bank's profit in 2025 was €1.832 billion, down 11% from the previous year. The bank's assets in Russia reached €9.164 billion, increasing by 40% over the year, and its Russian subsidiary's profit rose by 47.5% to €557.6 million.
"Luminor Bank" is the third largest financial service provider in the Baltics. In 2025, it reported a profit of €158 million, with high capital adequacy ratios – CET1 of 20.2% and total ratio of 24.6%.
