...March 5, 2021 FRANKFURT (S&P Global Ratings) March 5, 2021--Hungarian OTP Bank PLC's (###/Stable/A-2) operating results for 2020 display resilience to the difficult conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, S&P Global Ratings said today. Earnings metrics remained strong in our view, also demonstrated by a return on equity (ROE) of 13%, which is above average for many banks in Western and Central Europe in such an environment. Robust growth in its net interest income boosted by the consolidation of new subsidiaries offset impacts from many loan payment moratoria in countries of operations as well as an erosion in net interest margins. In addition, net fee and commission income increased moderately, despite a difficult first half of the year with subdued banking activity. We believe that the material increase in risk provisioning (up 300% year on year from a very low 28 basis points [bps] in 2019), together with the bank's strong capitalization, provide a cushion against the expected increase...
