French bank Societe Generale is exiting Central and Eastern Europe and has announced it will close offices in Bulgaria and the rest of the area. The bank said it intends to focus on other parts of their business and sell their shares in these regions. According to news reports Hungarian OTP Bank is buying the business. There are also reports that American Apollo Global Management is also looking at the bank. Societe General’s Bulgarian branch handles business in 5 other countries – Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Moldova. The bank feels these markets are oversaturated and unattractive now, which is why it is pulling out of them.
