OTP Bank, Hungary's largest lender, is considering a complete exit from Russia as it expands into the Baltic region, according to Bloomberg.
The review of the bank's strategy comes as Budapest-headquartered OTP Bank Nyrt. seeks regulatory approval to buy Baltic lender Luminor Bank AS. In Russia, OTP Bank's clients have included companies controlled by Russian gas giant Gazprom, as well as firms providing services to entities tied to Russian foreign intelligence.
European regulators are currently examining OTP Bank's Russian operations as the group prepares for what would be its largest takeover to date. Acquiring Luminor Bank, which held assets exceeding 15 billion euros as of last year, would significantly widen OTP Bank's footprint across the euro area.
The bank's ongoing presence in Moscow has drawn sharp criticism from Baltic officials. The central banks of Latvia and Lithuania previously voiced concern regarding OTP Bank's Russian operations, while Estonian Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi described the bank's decision to continue working in Russia as a moral disgrace.
OTP Bank stated that it has scaled back its business in Russia and found no instances of international sanctions violations. The group emphasized that its operations in Ukraine are far more significant to its overall strategy, noting that OTP Bank Ukraine expanded its loan portfolio by 35 percent in 2025 and remains designated as a systemically important bank by the National Bank of Ukraine.
Scale of Russian operations and dividend transfers
Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, OTP Bank has gradually reduced its Russian footprint. The lender halted loans to Russian corporate clients, restricted certain cross-border transactions, cut its local workforce by 25 percent, and reduced its branch network by 40 percent. Its remaining Russian business is currently concentrated almost entirely on retail lending.
According to Bloomberg, OTP Bank holds roughly a 0.4 percent share of the Russian banking market by assets. Despite the scaling back, the institution has successfully repatriated approximately 880 million dollars in dividends from its Russian business.
OTP Bank Nyrt. is a major financial services provider in Central and Eastern Europe, offering retail and corporate banking services across multiple countries in the region. Luminor Bank AS is a prominent financial institution operating across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, providing banking products to private and commercial clients throughout the Baltic states.
Upcoming regulatory decisions and Western banking exits
The European Central Bank and the Estonian banking regulator are expected to deliver their decisions on OTP Bank's proposed acquisition of Luminor in the coming weeks.
OTP Bank is among a dwindling group of European lenders that maintained operations in Russia following the 2022 invasion. Other foreign institutions have faced major hurdles in unwinding their local entities. In October 2025, Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International suffered a setback in its efforts to sell a stake in its Russian subsidiary, as Moscow sought to maintain a financial bridge with Western nations. Raiffeisen remains the largest unsanctioned lender in Russia, making it a critical conduit for international trade payments, particularly for European gas exports.
In December 2025, a Russian court ordered a subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International AG to pay 339 million euros in damages claimed by MKAO Rasperia Trading. Meanwhile, American lender Citibank, previously among the 20 largest banks in Russia by assets, began the final stages of winding down its remaining Russian operations in October 2025.
