In the previous year, Erste Group more than doubled its net profit from EUR 783.1 million to EUR 1.92 billion. “The strong economic upturn in our region last year has led to solid growth in credit demand,” said Chief Financial Officer Stefan Dörfler yesterday at the presentation of the 2021 balance sheet.
The region in which Erste Group operates is currently in a robust position. Accordingly, the bank is optimistic about this year and expects further credit growth, said CEO Bernd Spalt. The effects of the sanctions against Russia on Europe and on the domestic financial market are difficult to assess, also because the technical details of the sanctions “are not yet on the table”, but there are only descriptions of the content.
“Overall, it will slow down economic flows and have implications for economic growth,” Spalt expects. This could also have an indirect negative impact on Erste Group, said Spalt.
In addition to Austria, the bank’s core markets are the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Serbia. They want to stay in this region, and there are no plans to open up new markets. However, acquisitions in the region are conceivable as long as they support Erste Group’s business model, said Spalt.
From the current perspective, Erste Group expects net loan growth in the mid-single digits this year. Exact forecasts are difficult because of the political situation, it said in a press release from the bank. The dividend for the 2021 financial year should be EUR 1.6, after EUR 1.5 for 2020.
Source: Nachrichten
