Somebody just bought EUR 70 million of stocks of Hungary’s largest bank, and nobody knows who

An unusually large transaction shook the Budapest Stock Exchange on Friday, after an unknown investor purchased more than three-quarters of a million shares in Hungary’s largest bank, OTP.

Mysterious investor bought almost three quarters of the shares traded of Hungary’s largest bank that day

The deal, registered after the official close of trading, was worth approximately HUF 26.7 billion (around EUR 70 million), making it one of the most significant single transactions in the bank’s recent history.

According to exchange data, a total of 1,101,691 OTP shares changed hands during the day, with overall turnover reaching nearly HUF 39 billion (EUR 100.83 million). Remarkably, around 75 per cent of that volume was generated by the single, late-registered transaction involving exactly 756,666 shares, writes 444.

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Experts were flabbergasted as well Sándor Csányi, CEO of OTP Bank. Photo: FB/Budapest Stock Exchange

Market observers describe the timing and size of the purchase as highly unusual. Financial analysts cited by Portfolio suggest the transaction may be linked to the expiry of a specific share option, rather than a conventional market purchase. Such deals are typically recorded outside standard trading hours and can involve volumes far exceeding normal daily activity.

The identity of the buyer remains unknown, but available information strongly indicates that OTP itself was not behind the purchase. A buyback of this magnitude would have required a specific regulatory approval, and no such authorisation has been reported. Moreover, the bank’s previous share buyback programmes usually involved far smaller quantities, often just a few tens of thousands of shares at a time.

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A single transaction boosted the share price by a large margin

The impact on the market was immediate. OTP’s share price jumped sharply following the transaction, rising by around HUF 300 (EUR 0.78) to close at HUF 35,300 (EUR 91.26). This marked a new all-time high for the bank’s stock, underlining the strong investor confidence surrounding Hungary’s largest financial institution.

The record price represents a dramatic turnaround over the past year. At the beginning of the year, OTP shares were trading below HUF 22,000 (56.88), meaning the stock has gained more than 60 per cent in value in a matter of months.