Erste Group

Erste Group was founded in 1819 as the first Austrian savings bank (“Erste oesterreichische Spar-Casse”). In 1997, Erste Group went public with a strategy to expand its retail business into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Since then Erste Group's customer base has grown through numerous acquisitions and organic growth from 600,000 to around 17 million. 95% of all clients are citizens of the European Union. The EU membership gives the countries of the region a stable regulatory framework that supports their economic development.
Today Erste Group is one of the largest financial services providers in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of clients and total assets. It has always focused on retail and SME banking.

Key figures2011

2010*

2009

2008

2007

Total assets EUR m210,006

205,770

201,513

201,441

200,519

Net profit after minorities EUR m(718.9)

878.7

903.4

859.6

1,174.7

ROE2.3%

7.0%

9.7%

10.1%

14.6%

Cost-Income/Ratio51.5%

50.2%

50.2%

57.2%

59.2%

Number of employees50,452

50,272

50,488

52,648

52,442

Number of branches3,190

3,204

3,205

3,147

2,907

*restated

Erste Group Fact Sheet [pdf; 398.6 KB]
Erste Group Key Financials Q1 2012 [xls; 426.0 KB]

Erste Group CEE Map

Erste Group Map [jpg; 159.5 KB]