Erste Group: Annual General Meeting confirms financial year 2016

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Erste Group Bank AG addressed a number of agenda items, including the discharge from liability for the members of Erste Group’s Management Board and its Supervisory Board, the election of new Supervisory Board members, as well as approval for the amount of dividend to be paid out.

Erste Group posted a net profit of EUR 1.26 billion in 2016, which corresponds to a return on tangible equity (ROTE) of 12.3%. This performance was also supported by the favourable macroeconomic environment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), where those economies most relevant for Erste Group achieved growth rates significantly above the average euro area GDP growth of 1.7% in 2016. The CEE region’s solid macroeconomic framework underlines the strength of Erste Group’s strategic positioning. Erste Group’s Management Board proposed the distribution of a dividend of EUR 1.00 per share -- corresponding to a payout ratio of 34% -- on the back of the bank’s solid capital position. The dividend proposal was passed with 99.99% of the votes cast at the AGM.

At the AGM Friedrich Rödler was re-elected as the Supervisory Board’s chairman and Jan Homan was re-elected as its first vice chairman. The Supervisory Board elected Maximilian Hardegg as its new second vice chairman; he replaces Bettina Breiteneder, who resigned from the Supervisory Board with the conclusion of the AGM. Shareholders also approved the election of Marion Khüny and Jordi Gual (the Chairman of CaixaBank) to the Supervisory Board, as well as the reappointment of its existing members Brian D. O’Neill and John James Stack. In addition to the previously named individuals, the Supervisory Board now consists of Elisabeth Bleyleben-Koren, Gunter Griss, Elisabeth Krainer Senger-Weiss, Antonio Massanell and Wilhelm Rasinger, as well as six employees’ council delegates.

The shareholders also approved granting discharge to the members of Erste Group’s Management Board, with 99,98% of the votes cast at the AGM in favour of this proposal. Similarly, all members of the Supervisory Board were granted discharge with 99,98%.

All details regarding the AGM, including voting results and a video-webcast, are available at:
https://www.erstegroup.com/en/investors/events/agm/agm2017