LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Nov. 14, 2000--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its public information ("pi") long-term counterparty credit rating of OTP Bank Rt. at triple-'Bpi'. The affirmation follows the announcement that the Hungarian government asked OTP to negotiate with the State Privatization and Holding Co. (ÁPV Rt., not rated) for the takeover of state-owned PostaBank és Takarékpénztár Rt. (PostaBank, not rated). Standard&Poor's believes that the takeover of PostaBank will strengthen OTP's position both domestically and in the region. OTP, the former state savings bank in Hungary, has pursued a highly successful transformation policy to turn the bank into a diverse financial services group. It has maintained a dominant market position, a lead in several areas of product
