Erste Bank is the second largest commercial bank in Austria. With 2,900 branches and 46,000 employees, Erste Group is also one of the largest financial services providers in the Eastern part of EU. It is the largest retail bank in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania and is among the TOP5 players in number of other countries such as Hungary, or Croatia.
Thanks to its aggressive acquisition policy and strong growth in the CEE, Erste Bank has increased its revenues five-fold in the last decade. On the other hand, low margin Austrian business and problems in Romania and Hungary maintain pressure on the Group's bottom line.
Despite an impressive recovery following the market crash, Erste Bank share still trades at less than 50% of its all time high seen in 2007.
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