Hungary’s OTP sues Croatia for loan conversion damages

Reuters | 19 October 2020

Hungary’s OTP sues Croatia for loan conversion damages

BUDAPEST, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Hungary’s OTP Bank has sued the Croatian government to recover about 224 million Kuna ($34.60 million) it lost during a mandatory conversion of Swiss franc-denominated loans to euro-based loans in 2015, the bank said in a statement on Monday.

OTP is one of the major banks in Croatia and central Europe’s largest independent lender.

The arbitration procedure was launched at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. (ICSID)

OTP said Croatia has infringed the investment protection treaty between Hungary and Croatia. There was no immediate reaction from the Croatian government.

OTP said it had already booked the losses.

source: Reuters