AfE 2016 logo-196 135 Regional awards Press release View full 2016 results
Austria Belgium Cyprus Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Italy Luxembourg The Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain . Sweden Switzerland UK
|
Austria Best bank: Bawag PSK Best investment bank: JPMorgan |
Austrian market leader Erste Bank posted another set of healthy results in 2015 but the standout story of the year, in terms of both growth and profitability, belonged to Bawag PSK. The private equity-owned bank saw its bottom-line result jump by 26% year-on-year to €418 million, giving a sector-beating return on equity of 16.2% on the back of higher core revenues, lower operating expenses and a dramatic reduction in risk costs.
In recent years, Bawag has steadily worked to reduce its exposure to non-core markets and business lines, scaling back lending in central and eastern Europe, selling its asset management arm and discontinuing propriety trading.