(Bloomberg) -- Romania’s largest bank said it’s likely to slow a buying spree in the Black Sea country after clinching a deal to acquire the local unit of Hungary’s OTP Bank Nyrt.

Banca Transilvania SA, the most active buyer of banks in Romania over the past decade, is still scouting for opportunities, but “it’s getting harder” to consider small-scale deals because of rising integration costs, Chief Executive Officer Omer Tetik said.

“We had an active role in this process, but from where we stand now it’s getting harder to justify looking at small lenders, so we’ll be more selective going forward,” Tetik said during a conference in Bucharest on Tuesday.

Western European lenders such as UniCredit SpA and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA have sought to expand into the Romanian market via deals over the past two years, while large investment funds have also shown interest in the sector. Romania has more than 30 banks, with the bulk of the market share concentrated among the top 10 players.  

UniCredit’s market share is set to increase upon the completion of a deal agreed in October to buy the Romanian unit of Alpha Bank SA as the recent wave of deals reshapes the rankings in Romania. 

“It’s clear that there’s still room for consolidation in the Romanian banking system, because operational costs are rising and that impacts smaller banks,” Tetik said. 

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