Slovenská sporiteľňa was established in 1825 as the first savings-bank institution in Slovakia. Today, Slovenská sporiteľňa is the largest commercial bank in Slovakia servicing more than 2.5 million clients. For a long time it keeps its leadership in the area of total assets, credits, clients deposits, number of branches and ATMs (705). It offers its complex services in 293 branches and 18 commercial centres in Slovakia. From 2001 on, Slovenská sporiteľňa became a member of Erste Group, which was founded 1819 as the first Austrian savings bank. Since 1997, it has developed into one of the largest financial services providers in Central and Eastern Europe, with more than 50,000 employees serving more than 17 million clients in 3,200 branches in 8 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine).