Hungary to pay GE up to €615m for Budapest Bank

Hungary will pay US giant General Electric Capital Group (GE) up to 615 million euros ($700 million) to buy Budapest Bank, the country's eighth largest lender, the government said Friday.
Corvinus International Investment, a division of the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) announced the deal, according to state news agency MTI.
Earlier, a state guarantee for the purchase published in the government's official legal gazette indicated a likely price tag of 615 million euros.
The government signed a preliminary contract with GE last December on the purchase of Budapest Bank as part of Hungary's drive to increase domestic ownership of the sector.
Last September the government bought the MKB bank from its German owner Bayerische Landesbank, while last Monday it said it would buy a stake of up to 15 percent in the local branch of Austria's Erste.
Budapest Bank had consolidated net assets of 154.1 billion forints (500 million euros, $573 million) and total assets of 905.4 billion forints at the end of 2013.
The bank closed 2013 with consolidated net profit of 13.1 billion forints.