Hungarian bank OTP announced that it submitted a preliminary bid for the acquisition of 99.75% stake in HVB Splitska banka on Friday. The bank was offered for sale by its direct shareholder Bank Austria Creditanstalt, part of HVB Group, in compliance with the anti-trust recommendation by the central bank after the merger of HVB Group and Italy's UniCredit.

The Italian institution owns the largest domestic bank, Zagrebacka banka. Together, the two banks' share was very close to the maximum possible 35%. As of the end of September, Zagrebacka had a share of 25.03% of total commercial banks' assets, and HVB Splitska ranked fifth with a share of 9.07%. HVB Splitska's assets stood at HRK22.3 billion (€3 billion) and its value has been estimated at €700million to €800 million. The advisors on the sale of the bank are CSFB and CAIB.

OTP has been the second bank to confirm bidding for HVB Splitska after the domestic and only state bank Hrvatska postanska banka (Croatian Post Bank) announced its intentions last week. Among the rumored bidders for the stake are Belgium's KBC, France 's Société Générale, Poland 's PKO, National Bank of Greece, Hungary's MKB and Austria's BAWAG.

Reportedly, the central bank has advised Italian, German and Austrian banks against bidding for HVB Splitska. It should be recalled that of the top 10 banks on the domestic market, which account for more than 92% market share, eight are controlled by Italian, German and Austrian owners. They have shares in smaller banks as well. The candidates for HVB Splitska are expected to start diligence next month while the winner might be known in April.