The Postal Savings Bank was founded in 1883 by the economist Georg Coch. The PSK, which offered financial services via the post office network, has belonged to Bawag since 2000 – at that time the union bank bought the majority from the state. In 2005 the full merger took place, creating the fourth largest banking group in Austria. To date, the bank has operated as Bawag PSK. But now the Postal Savings Bank is finally disappearing from the scene.
The logo is changed in advertising, online and in the 88 branches: PSK is dropped, only Bawag remains. A “rebranding” is being carried out that “reflects our strategy of simplification,” says Bawag.
This brand change started at the end of June, when the new advertising line also began. The website has already been switched to bawag.at. Bawag wants to “further simplify public perception. Nothing changes for the customer – products, terms and conditions, etc. remain the same,” it says. “We are building a multi-channel, multi-brand business for retail customers and SMBs – from branch to partners, brokers and platforms – using digital products and technologies throughout our customer value chain.”
75 percent of the product portfolio is already fully digitized, more than 90 percent of banking transactions are processed digitally, be it via mobile and web banking functions or self-service devices.
Switching costs secret
How much the brand conversion process costs and how many customers or how much business volume of Bawag come from the former Postal Savings Bank is not disclosed. Until March 2020, Bawag PSK services were still offered in Swiss Post branches – this cooperation agreement was terminated.
After the Bawag affair with credit and speculation losses in 2006, the US fund Cerberus bought Bawag from the ÖGB in 2007. The US financial investor Golden Tree also got involved in 2012. In 2017, Bawag went public (whose company name is still “BAWAG PSK Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse Aktiengesellschaft”).
100 percent of the shares are now in free float. The largest shareholders are the US investment firms T. Rowe Price, Wellington and Blackrock with 5.6 and 5 percent respectively. Most recently, Bawag made a net profit of 479.9 million euros with 3,671 employees and 2.2 million customers in Austria, Western Europe and the USA. The balance sheet total is around 56 billion euros.
Source: Nachrichten
