CEO’s response or how COVID-19 crisis may change the strategy of the OTP Bank?

The answer is simple: the strategy will not change. In order to provide a reliable explanation, let me draw an analogy with human immunity.

If I lead a healthy lifestyle: keep a diet, do exercises on the regular basis, do not smoke or consume alcohol, I possess a pretty high chance of having strong immunity. If I am under the risk category, I can be sure that a health damage will be relatively low, even if I will be the infected. I cannot change my lifestyle (it is too late), but I am trying to be more careful in order to be secure.

The same approach may be applied to the bank. We are doing our best to preserve so-called immunity: we have very high liquid and capital levels, our portfolio possesses a conservative risk profile, we avoid cyclical industries and we are extremely effective. In the current crisis we stick to our strategy.

More caveats mean that we economize our resources and do not rush with the variety of projects, which are not urgent, everything will clear up.

In our case the strategy remains the same, only tactic may be altered. One of the tactic changes is more careful intrusion into the new markets (mortgage, agricultural land, infrastructural projects). Far more relevant is to reduce the digital gap to the market leaders.

Crisis – is always an opportunity for catching up!

Sincerely,
Tomash Hack Kovacs,
CEO