OTP Private Banking: New International Funds for Portfolio Diversification

Leader of the Hungarian private banking market, OTP Private Banking is to expand its current range of offerings to include new investment products in order to enable its clients to capitalize on the opportunities offered by international capital market trends.

The private banking business line of OTP commenced operation in 1995. In 2002, the Bank re-positioned the business line and elaborated a new private banking value proposal. The success of the work performed so far is indicated by the fact that the assets managed have trebled since 2002, while the number of clients nearly doubled. As a result, OTP Private Banking has grown to become leader of the market with its share estimated at around 35 percent. Currently, 12,700 clients have their assets worth nearly HUF 400 billion managed by OTP Private Banking; such impressive volume is perceived as outstanding not only in the domestic market, but also in international comparison.

The success story of OTP's private banking rests on several pillars. A carefully structured investment consultancy process, a sophisticated private banking consultancy network, a traditionally exclusive private banking service and customized pricing packages with a wide range of favourable business terms have all contributed to the achievements of OTP Private Banking. While responding flexibly to the special needs of clients and international trends, OTP Bank considers it important to increase the added value and exclusivity of private banking by offering a dedicated product available only to private banking clients.

As a next step in this conscious product development strategy, OTP Private Banking, as strategic distributor of BlackRock Merrill Lynch Investment in Hungary, announces the commencement of trading 58 BlackRock investment funds registered in Hungary in May 2007 to its clients. These 58 newly traded funds - complete with other partners' funds already traded and OTP Group's own investment products - will allow for the feasibly most extensive diversification of investment portfolios. Thus, OTP Private Banking clients may move in any direction on the risk assumption scale and have investment positions even in the most exotic regions and industries. 

As the international recognition of OTP Private Banking is clearly reflected in the sustained interest of large international global fund and asset managers, Nick Anderson, managing director of BlackRock Merrill Lynch Investment Managers is understandably satisfied with the signing of the distribution agreement, "We are pleased to have been chosen as a partner by Hungary's market leader bank to provide services to their private banking clients by trading BlackRock funds. As a global fund manager with extensive experience in the stock and bonds markets, we are glad to offer Hungarian investors the opportunity to benefit from the professional knowledge of the best-trained asset managers of the world."

With assets worth USD 1,154 trillion (as of 31 Mach 2007) in its management, BlackRock is one of the largest fund managers of the world. The New York-based company has 36 offices in 18 countries and employs approximately 5,000 people to provide asset management services to institutions and private individuals all over the world, with prominent presence in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

BlackRock's fusion with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in October 2006 resulted in the birth of a new "superpower" in the global investment fund management market, as the primarily US-based institutional fixed income asset management heritage of BlackRock was coupled with the internationally renowned - and several times awarded - retail stock management business line of

Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Currently, the company has a full scale of stock, bond, financial market and other investment assets and fund management products on offer for retail as well as institutional investors.

BlackRock Merrill Lynch IM offers custom-tailored investment solutions to its clients by taking local features into consideration to the highest possible extent and making the most of the advantages offered by its international network. The fundamental philosophy of the company is to continuously create value for client portfolios with the help of qualified asset managers, regulated investment methods and sophisticated analytical instruments. Outstanding expertise and the application of the most efficient market instruments provide a powerful combination which enables clients to capitalise on the opportunities inherent in BlackRock's award-winning skills and in-depth investment expertise. Since 2000 a new risk management and trading platform called BlackRock Solutions has been available to the company's external clients.

Proven success in operation and strong technical and investment approach make BlackRock funds uniquely suitable for realizing outstanding yields for investors.