Awards for our performance
Around 55,000 Erste Group employees support people and businesses across Central and Eastern Europe every day. Our goal is to make banking easier and contribute to the economic success of the people, businesses and regions in which we operate. This impact is regularly recognised through international awards.
We are proud to have received the “Best Bank” award for our work in Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (“CEE”) from many renowned banking publications and institutions, including The Banker and Euromoney.
We are delighted to have received the Recommender Award from the Austrian Financial Marketing Association for the fifth consecutive year. This recognition confirms our customers’ high level of satisfaction and their willingness to recommend us to others. Our bank also received the quality seal for “Outstanding Customer Orientation.”
We continue to rank among the country’s strongest brands this year: At the Best Brands Austria 2026 awards, Erste Bank and Sparkasse were named Austria’s leading brand in the “Financial Services” category. At the same time, the latest ranking by Brand Finance confirms Erste’s exceptional strength and continuously growing brand value.
Euromoney: Erste Group named Best Bank in CEE once again
Erste Group has been named “CEE’s Best Bank” by Euromoney for the third consecutive year. We are particularly proud of the award as “CEE’s Best Bank for Large Corporates,” which underlines our strong position as a partner for large corporates in Central and Eastern Europe.
The awards confirm the path we are taking in a region we have helped shape for many years. Euromoney particularly recognised our strong development in Central and Eastern Europe, the expansion of our presence in Poland, innovative offerings such as George Invest and Hey George AI, and our focus on our customers’ financial health.
In February 2026, Euromoney already ranked us first in CEE in its latest Trade Finance study in the areas of customer service, products and technology.
Erste Bank und Sparkasse was also named “Austria’s Best Bank.” In addition, our subsidiary banks received seven further Euromoney Awards.
Building a liveable future
Our initiatives in the areas of social responsibility and diversity have been recognized with multiple awards. Through these initiatives, we contribute to prosperity and sustainable development in our region.
Together, we are taking action against hunger and food waste
Erste Bank Oesterreich achieved 3rd place at the “Wirtschaft hilft” Awards in the category Long-Term Partnerships. The award recognized the longstanding collaboration with Die Tafel Österreich. Together, we helped provide more than 1.2 million meals for people affected by poverty and rescued over 50 tonnes of food from going to waste.
We embrace diversity and inclusion
The EPBN-WISE Conference, “Protect Workplace Inclusion in Europe”, held in Prague, honored Erste Group with the LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Award from the European Pride Business Network (EPBN). The award recognizes companies that actively promote inclusive workplaces and foster diversity in a sustainable way. In doing so, Erste Group also makes an important contribution to advancing diversity and inclusion standards across Europe.
Supporting family caregivers
In 2026, Alles Clara, the digital advisory platform of ERSTE Foundation in cooperation with Erste Bank, received multiple awards. The jury particularly recognized its people-centered approach, combining digital innovation with responsible action to directly support family caregivers.
- At the national “Family & Work” Awards, Alles Clara achieved 3rd place in the special category “Family-Friendly Employer Branding: Paths to Better Reconciliation of Caregiving and Work.”
- NIEDERÖSTERREICHERIN Award 2026 in the category Health & Wellbeing.
- Digital Humanism in Practice Award 2026 in the category Organization.
For more information about our initiatives, see here.
Best Private Banking
Erste Private Banking serves more than 9,100 high-net-worth clients in Austria and manages approximately 50 billion euros. At Erste we combine regional strength with vision and values. From sustainable investments to customised solutions, we are committed to delivering a private banking experience that is engaging, relevant and responsible.
We are proud that we received two awards from Euromoney: In Austria, we were named “Best Private Bank,” and our subsidiary in Romania was recognized for the quality of its service. The jury highlighted the combination of advisory expertise, digital offerings, and access to new asset classes.
In addition, the industry publications PWM and The Banker recognised our services as the best Private Banking in Central and Eastern Europe for the 12th time in a row, and also as the best Private Banking in Austria for the 10th consecutive year.
Explore our Private Banking Services.
Award-Winning Commercial Real Estate Financing
The Commercial Real Estate team of Erste Group is among the leading partners for tailor-made commercial real estate financing solutions. With extensive expertise and deep market knowledge, we provide our clients with first-class products and services across the entire spectrum of commercial real estate finance.
Our work has received multiple awards:
- For the third consecutive year, Erste Group was named “Lender of the Year” at the CEEQA Awards.
- At the European Real Estate Brand Awards 2026, Erste Group was also recognized as “Brand of the Year” among Austrian banks.
- At the CEE Property Forum Awards, we received the “Financing Story of the Year” award.
Awards for the quality and sustainability of our funds
Numerous national and international awards confirm the outstanding quality of our funds and the innovative strength of our products. These achievements also demonstrate how successfully Erste Asset Management combines sustainability and long-term value creation through active fund management and broad diversification.
Key highlights include:
- Mountain View Fund Award: 1st place in Austria for the RT Österreich Aktienfonds
- LSEG Lipper Fund Awards: Awards for ERSTE BOND CORPORATE PLUS and ERSTE STOCK REAL ESTATE in Germany and Austria
- Austrian Fund Award: Award for GreenStars Opportunities
Erste AM also earned renewed recognition from Forum for Sustainable Investments, Opens In New Window (FNG), with all 25 sustainability and ethics funds submitted receiving the FNG quality seal with the highest rating of three stars.
Take a look at our funds.
Risk notes according to 2011 Austrian Investment Fund Act
ERSTE STOCK REAL ESTATE may make significant investments in investment funds (UCITS, UCI) pursuant to section 71 of the 2011 Austrian Investment Fund Act.
RT Österreich Aktienfonds
The fund employs an active investment policy and is not oriented towards a benchmark. The assets are selected on a discretionary basis and the scope of discretion of the management company is not limited.
For further information on the sustainable focus of RT Österreich Aktienfonds as well as on the disclosures in accordance with the Disclosure Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) and the Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852), please refer to the current Prospectus, section 12 and the Annex "Sustainability Principles". In deciding to invest in RT Österreich Aktienfonds, consideration should be given to any characteristics or objectives of the RT Österreich Aktienfonds as described in the Fund Documents.
ERSTE BOND CORPORATE PLUS
The fund employs an active investment policy and is not oriented towards a benchmark. The assets are selected on a discretionary basis and the scope of discretion of the management company is not limited.
For further information on the sustainable focus of ERSTE BOND CORPORATE PLUS as well as on the disclosures in accordance with the Disclosure Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) and the Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852), please refer to the current Prospectus, section 12 and the Annex "Sustainability Principles". In deciding to invest in ERSTE BOND CORPORATE PLUS, consideration should be given to any characteristics or objectives of the ERSTE BOND CORPORATE PLUS as described in the Fund Documents.
ERSTE STOCK REAL ESTATE
The fund employs an active investment policy and is not oriented towards a benchmark. The assets are selected on a discretionary basis and the scope of discretion of the management company is not limited.
For further information on the sustainable focus of ERSTE STOCK REAL ESTATE as well as on the disclosures in accordance with the Disclosure Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) and the Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852), please refer to the current Prospectus, section 12 and the Annex "Sustainability Principles". In deciding to invest in ERSTE STOCK REAL ESTATE, consideration should be given to any characteristics or objectives of the ERSTE STOCK REAL ESTATE as described in the Fund Documents.
GreenStars Opportunities
The fund employs an active investment policy and is not oriented towards a benchmark. The assets are selected on a discretionary basis and the scope of discretion of the management company is not limited.
For further information on the sustainable focus of GreenStars Opportunities as well as on the disclosures in accordance with the Disclosure Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) and the Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852), please refer to the current Prospectus, section 12 and the Annex "Sustainability Principles". In deciding to invest in GreenStars Opportunities, consideration should be given to any characteristics or objectives of the GreenStars Opportunities as described in the Fund Documents.