OTP Bank Romania, a member of the Hungarian financial group OTP, is to cease its stock-brokerage activities after operating for three years on the Romanian capital market, according to sources quoted by the Mediafax news agency.

At the end of November 2012, OTP Bank came in 34th out of the 52 brokers registered with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with an overall turnover of  approximately EUR 15.2 million (RON 68.3 million) and a 0.37 percent market share.

The bank received the approval of the National Securities Commission (CNVM) to operate on the capital market in March 2009 and  initiated its first transactions in October 2009.

During its rookie year in the stock exchange world, OTP Bank Romania acted as intermediary in EUR 0.8 million (RON 3.8 million) worth of transactions, which represented a 0.03 percent market share. One year later, the bank made it to the 36^th position in the Romanian brokers’ ranking with  transactions totaling EUR 20.26 million (RON 85.1 million), enabling it to secure a 0.48 percent market share. In 2011 it rose again to 24^th position in the brokers’ listing translated as EUR 41.7 million (RON 175.1 million) worth of transfers and a 0.27 percent market share.

2012 has proven to be quite bad for local stockbroking with major players such as ING Bank and UniCredit CAIB calling it quits and Active International ready to throw in the towel as well. The number of local brokerage businesses has now dropped to 50.

With commissions on a vertiginous downward slope due to the slow movements on the market, much of the local stock exchange has disappeared without a trace. Stock exchange transactions this year took a EUR 0.6 billion (RON 3 billion) plunge as compared to the levels recorded in 2011, down to EUR 1.6 billion (RON 7.5 billion).

Ioana Jelea, ioana.jelea@romania-insider.com