Awards for Excellence country winners – Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has long been considered one of the most attractive banking markets in central and eastern Europe in terms of the risk-return dynamic. All the top five banks are foreign-owned, and the sector has been relatively consistent in terms of its earnings. The higher interest-rate environment, so far, has reinforced the sector’s good profitability, despite a new tax on bank profits, not least because asset quality has remained healthy.

Owned by Brussels-based group KBC, Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka (CSOB) is the Czech Republic’s biggest bank by assets. It had a particularly good financial performance in 2023. Net profit increased by 6% to Kc15.4 billion ($670 million) despite banking taxes of Kc1.4 billion and thanks partly to an 11% growth in net fee and commission income.