The sale of Dexia Banka Slovensko, which has to be completed by October 2012 as a condition of the European Commission because of EUR 6.4 billion in assistance for its parent in 2008, is starting to attract a lot of attention.
The Belgian-French Dexia group is keeping its lips sealed, but prospective buyers are already disclosing their interest. These include the likes of financial groups J&T and Istrokapital, which are both looking to expand and extend their activities on the Slovak market. Another big player, Penta Group, is standing in the sidelines until it has more information.
Istrokapital representatives have already met with parent Dexia SA Brusel, as it sees the sale as a good opportunity to add to Postova banka, which it owns. J&T is openly interested and has also initiated talks with the parent bank. It offers merchant and private banking services in Slovakia through J&T Banka, but it doesn’t yet have a full retail bank.
Interest in a possible takeover by an existing bank has so far only come from Tatra banka, although there are speculations that OTP Banka may also be interested, while UniCredit Bank refused to comment. The other banks have expressed their disinterest.