<b>Erste Bank: retail leader by organic growth</b>

January 01, 1999

Headline: Erste Bank: retail leader by organic growth
Source: Euromoney
Date: September 2001







Wenceslas looks out on a country full of foreign banks

Although large local corporates have commanded the attentions of most western banks, Austria’s Erste Bank is aiming its regional expansion at a less coveted market, but one it believes may have greater potential. By targeting consumers of retail banking services, Erste Bank is playing to its core strengths while developing a distribution network that is among the largest in the region.

Almost immediately following its formation some four years ago when Erste Bank and GiroCredit Bank merged to form Austria’s second-biggest bank, Erste Bank has aggressively built up operational size and scale in central and eastern Europe.

And despite the fact that Erste Bank was not among the early entrants – such as domestic competitors RZB and Bank Austria/Creditanstalt – the retail focus has enabled it to do so largely in a vacuum.

“We are not latecomers, but front-runners,” says Erste’s spokesman in Vienna. “Back in 1997, there were no western banks focused on retail banking.

<b>Erste Bank: retail leader by organic growth</b>

To unlock this article

Topics

More in this section