{"slug": "otp-gives-hong-kong-a-vote-of-confidence-as-european-banks-look-east", "title": "OTP gives Hong Kong a vote of confidence as European banks look East", "summary": "Hungary's OTP Bank became the first European financial institution to directly list a debt financing programme on the Hong Kong stock exchange, signaling a shift by European banks toward Asian capital markets amid rising costs and energy instability in Europe.", "body_md": "Advertisement\n\n# OTP gives Hong Kong a vote of confidence as European banks look East\n\nEuropean banks, facing rising costs and energy instability, are turning to Hong Kong for funding, with Hungary’s OTP Bank leading the shift\n\n3-MIN READ3-MIN\n\nListen\n\nThe way European banks fund themselves is quietly shifting.\n\nGeopolitical fragmentation, rising financing costs and increasingly unstable global energy supplies are pushing lenders to look beyond their\n\n[traditional capital markets](https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3345226/how-ai-scare-trade-sparking-ma-battles-traditional-firms-and-start-ups?module=inline&pgtype=article). And Hong Kong, which central and eastern European institutions rarely access directly, is emerging as a powerful alternative.OTP Bank, Hungary’s biggest lender, is one such bank that has given a vote of confidence to the city.\n\nThe Budapest-based bank has become the first European financial institution to directly list a debt financing programme on the\n\n[Hong Kong stock exchange](https://www.scmp.com/topics/hong-kong-stock-exchange?module=inline&pgtype=article)– a move that signals not just a strategic bet by a single lender, but a broader bridge between Asian capital markets and European issuers.“When there are certain problems in the European capital market, you can still rely on the Far East market,” Sandor Pataki, director of Investor Relations and Capital Markets Operations at OTP Bank, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post before the June 30 listing ceremony.\n\n“The Hong Kong stock exchange listing is probably one of the best, if not the best instrument,” he added.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nSelect Voice\n\nSelect Speed\n\n1.00x", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/otp-gives-hong-kong-a-vote-of-confidence-as-european-banks-look-east", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3358853/otp-gives-hong-kong-vote-confidence-european-banks-look-east?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-06-30 08:00:06+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-30 08:27:15.718734+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["OTP Bank", "Hong Kong stock exchange", "Sandor Pataki"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/otp-gives-hong-kong-a-vote-of-confidence-as-european-banks-look-east", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/otp-gives-hong-kong-a-vote-of-confidence-as-european-banks-look-east.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/otp-gives-hong-kong-a-vote-of-confidence-as-european-banks-look-east.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/otp-gives-hong-kong-a-vote-of-confidence-as-european-banks-look-east.jsonld"}}