Sir,
Your article on Hungary in April was an excellent example of fine journalism. I wish to congratulate you personally. No wonder the National Bank of Hungary regards Euromoney as one of the most important financial publications.
Having said that I wish to draw your attention to a sentence in the second part of the article stating that OTP and Postabank "are regarded in Budapest as the least efficiently managed and thought most likely to lose market share".
Shortly after your visit to Budapest the auditors of Postabank announced that Postabank was losing its capital last year and that's why the government decided to recapitalize it in April. OTP, however, as the largest Hungarian commercial bank was able to increase its market value by 700% in real terms in the past several years.
I believe it would be a good idea for you to visit Budapest again and meet high officials of these banks. I presume they would provide ample information on recent developments.
Gyorgy Suranyi
President, National Bank of Hungary, Budapest