Austria

Awards of Excellence
Western Europe regional awards

Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) is the largest corporate bank in Austria, counting some 85% of Austria’s biggest businesses as customers, and 60% of small and medium-sized businesses. It is not the largest retail bank in Austria – that honour goes to last year’s winner of this award, RZB – but BA-CA is only now reaping the benefits of a lengthy restructuring. The bank has been part of UniCredit for two years now, and its status within the group has been growing throughout that time. Earlier this year, UniCredit moved its trade finance centre to Vienna, and all central and eastern European business is now concentrated in the Austrian capital. Before joining the group, BA-CA was active in 12 countries. It is now responsible for 24, including two of the group’s biggest markets, in Turkey and Russia. In Austria, the bank is winning business in a mature market, where new business is not originated but taken from a competitor. In 2006, BA-CA won 30,000 new clients and increased its market share in both retail banking and asset management.