EQS-News: Erste Group: Strong operating performance, strategic progress in Poland

EQS-News: Erste Group Bank AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
Erste Group: Strong operating performance, strategic progress in Poland
(news with additional features)

30.07.2026 / 07:30 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Erste Group: Strong operating performance, strategic progress in Poland

• Loan volume increased to €282.7 billion in H1 2026, nearly reaching
full-year target of €285 billion
• New full-year lending target set at around €290 billion
• Deposit volume rose to €323.7 billion in H1 2026
• Assets under Management up ca. 8% YTD and close to €112 billion (excl.
Poland)
• CEE markets remain key profit drivers, with two-thirds of overall net
profit
• Capitalisation strong, with CET1 ratio at 15.2%
• Good progress in integration of Erste Bank Polska

In the first six months of 2026, Erste Group Bank AG (“Erste Group”)
further strengthened its strategic positioning as Central Europe’s leading
financial services provider and improved all its key metrics. The
consolidation of Erste Group’s newly acquired Polish bank significantly
boosted the banking group’s results in the first half of the year. Even
when the impact of this consolidation is excluded, the Group’s figures
demonstrate that its organic growth momentum remains strong and intact.

“The strong growth in our lending portfolio these past six months has
already placed us near our full-year lending target of 285 billion euros.
That’s why we’re now raising that target to 290 billion euros. Our
position as the region’s undisputed leading lender is based on this
ambition, as well as our unrivalled presence in Central Europe through
fully fledged banks in eight countries,” said Peter Bosek, CEO of Erste
Group. “Sustaining the region’s growth momentum will require significant
investment in future-proof infrastructure across Central Europe. We stand
ready to support both businesses and governments and to play our part in
driving the region’s continued development and prosperity.”

Core revenues benefit from strong customer business in resilient economies

The organic growth and the resilience of the region’s economies despite
the volatility introduced by global geopolitical developments contributed
to a 4.0% year-to-date rise in customer loan volumes on a comparable basis
(excl. Poland). That growth was apparent across almost all markets, with
customer demand for financing particularly strong in the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Croatia and Austria. Including Erste Bank Polska’s loan portfolio
of 41.4 billion euros, loans increased by 21.9%, with the overall volume
reaching 282.7 billion euros (Dec. 2025: 232.0 billion euros). Erste Group
subsidiaries excluding Poland concluded 60,000 new mortgage loans, helping
to drive higher overall lending in the retail segment, while a net
increase of over 4 billion euros in lending in the corporate segment
reflected stronger demand for loans for investment.

Customer deposits on a comparable basis (excl. Poland) rose by 4.5% during
the first half of the year, with growth within Erste Group’s
long-established markets driven mainly by higher deposit volumes in the
corporates segment in the Czech Republic and Austria, as well as by a
positive foreign currency impact on deposits in Hungary. When including
the 59.3 billion euros in customer deposits at Erste Bank Polska, the
Group’s overall deposit volume grew by 27.9% to 323.7 billion euros (Dec.
2025: 253.0 billion euros).

Against the backdrop of adjustments in the interest rate environment both
in the euro area and beyond, this growth in customer business helped lift
core revenues. Without Erste Bank Polska, the net interest income (NII)
grew by 6.1%. Including the new Polish entity, NII was 42.3% higher
year-on-year at 5.4 billion euros (H1 2025: 3.8 billion euros).

Net fee and commission income (NFCI) rose by 8.8% on a comparable basis,
while including Poland led it to rise by 25.1% to 1.9 billion euros (H1
2025: 1.5 billion euros). Beyond the impact of the inclusion of Erste Bank
Polska, this increase in NFCI also reflected positive developments in the
securities business. Assets under management (AuM) managed by Erste Asset
Management were 7.6% higher since December 2025 at almost 112 billion
euros. This total does not include around 7.7 billion euros in AuM at the
Polish asset manager Erste TFI. Growing customer interest in investments
was also apparent in the strong demand for monthly investment plans, which
rose 21.4% year-on-year to 2.2 million in total.

These positive developments in core revenues led to a strong 8.3%
year-on-year increase in operating income on a comparable basis. Including
the contribution from Erste Bank Polska led to a 40.4% increase in overall
operating income to almost 8.0 billion euros (H1 2025: 5.7 billion euros).

Operating expenses increased by 3.4% on a comparable basis, in line with
guidance and reflecting higher personnel expenses and FX effects. With
Erste Bank Polska included, operating expenses amounted to 3.5 billion
euros (H1 2025: 2.7 billion euros), an increase of 30.7%. Accordingly, the
operating result rose by 12.7% on a comparable basis. Including Poland led
the operating result to rise by 49.3% to 4.4 billion euros (H1 2025: 3.0
billion euros). Erste Group’s cost/income ratio stood at 45.6% on a
comparable basis or 44.4% with Poland included (H1 2025: 47.7%).

Robust capitalization reflects strong operating performance

In the first half of 2026, risk costs increased to 583 million euros, due
to expected one-off effects related to the first-time consolidation of
Erste Bank Polska in the first quarter. These one-off effects, recognised
in accordance with IFRS 9, amounted to 302 million euros. A further
booking of 60 million euros was related to Erste Bank Polska’s existing
loan portfolio. Despite volatile markets and geopolitical uncertainties,
the risk costs booked for Erste Group’s long-established markets remained
at a consistently low level of 221 million euros (H1 2025: 182 million
euros). The quality of the loan portfolio remained robust, leading the NPL
ratio to remain largely unchanged at a low level of 2.3% (Dec. 25: 2.4%).

The burden from banking levies nearly doubled in the first half of 2026 to
392 million euros (H1 2025: 197 million euros). This increase was driven
by higher charges in Hungary (up from 109 to 189 million euros) and
Romania (up from 20 to 39 million euros), as well as by the first-time
recognition of banking taxes in Poland (98 million euros). In addition to
these banking levies, the Group booked banking taxes of 33 million euros
in Slovakia (H1 2025: 32 million euros) as taxes on income.

Erste Group’s net profit rose by 7.6% on a comparable basis. The increase
was 18.6% including Erste Bank Polska and one-off effects, reaching 2.0
billion euros (H1 2025: 1.7 billion euros). Despite the effects associated
with the first-time consolidation of the Polish subsidiary, Central Europe
continued to clearly be the profits driver for the Group, accounting for
two-thirds of its total net profit.

The strong development in the Group’s core business boosted its
capitalization, with the common equity tier 1 capital ratio (CET1) coming
in at 15.2% (Dec. 25: 19.3%).

“Consolidating our new Polish subsidiary provided an obvious boost to our
reported numbers. But we’ve also posted strong growth in our core business
in the markets in which we have a long-established presence,” said Erste
Group CFO Stefan Dörfler. “Our consistent delivery of solid results allows
us to continue investing in our platform to make us more efficient, faster
and more scalable across the group. That enables us to serve our 23
million customers and Erste Group’s investors in the best possible way.”

Erste in Poland: Brand-building on track, loyalty remains high

Erste Group’s acquisition of a controlling 49% stake in Erste Bank Polska
was successfully completed in January 2026. Since then, the integration of
the Polish subsidiary into Erste Group has progressed according to plan.
Following a comprehensive rebranding campaign in April 2026, Erste Bank
Polska is successfully introducing the Erste brand in the Polish market.
The more than 300,000 new customers Erste Bank Polska acquired during the
first half of 2026 underline the trust Polish customers place in Erste’s
customer-centric banking approach. Building on Erste Bank Polska’s strong
position among retail and corporate clients, Erste sees particular
opportunities to further strengthen its offering in the corporate business
in the region.

With the rebranding on track, the integration of Erste Bank Polska has
entered its next phase, which focuses on the bank’s full technical
integration into Erste Group’s infrastructure. At the same time, the legal
and organizational integration of Erste’s subsidiaries in Poland is
progressing, including the integration of Erste TFI into Erste Asset
Management and Erste Securities Polska into Erste Bank Polska.

 2026 Outlook raised on comparable basis excluding Poland

Erste Group’s business in its seven long-established core markets
(Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia)
is projected to experience healthy loan volume growth of 6-8% (versus more
than 5% in the previous guidance). Operating performance as defined by
operating result is expected to improve year-on-year: net interest income
is projected to grow by about 5%, fee and commission income should
increase by 7-9% (versus more than 5%). Operating expenses are projected
to grow on the order of 3%. Consequently, the cost/income ratio is
expected to improve from the level of about 48% in 2025 to less than
(versus about) 47% in 2026. Risk costs, at 20-25 basis points, are
expected at a similarly benign level as in 2025.

 2026 Outlook including Poland raised

Erste Group in its now eight core markets (including Poland) expects an
increase in the customer loan volume to approximately 290 billion euros
(versus around 285 billion euros in the previous guidance). It now
projects a return on tangible equity (ROTE) of above 20% (versus about
19%) and an increase in earnings per share (EPS) of more than 20% based on
2025 net profit adjusted for one-off items compared to the reported 2026
net profit.

Financial ambition to 2030: aim of doubling of EPS to above 15 euros

In addition to upgrading its 2026 guidance, Erste Group has announced its
financial ambition to 2030. The Group aims to double earnings per share
(EPS) by 2030 to above 15 euros per share, with an adjusted 2025 EPS of
7.72 euros serving as the baseline. This implies a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of approximately 15% in the 2025-2030 timeframe, while
maintaining a return on tangible equity (ROTE) of more than 20% throughout
the forecast period.

Erste Group’s financial ambition is built on the following key
assumptions: sustainable organic growth in lending, deposit taking and
asset management on the back of superior economic growth in Central
Europe; inorganic optionality in Poland and across Central Europe; better
operating efficiency driven by larger scale; a continued solid credit risk
environment; and, meaningful capital return including regular dividend
payments and share buybacks.

All assumptions are predicated on a reasonably stable geopolitical
environment over the forecast period, an interest rate backdrop broadly
comparable to current levels, and no further material increase in the
banking levy, regulatory and general tax burden.

About Erste Group

Erste Group is the leading banking group in Central Europe. Since its
founding as the first Austrian savings bank in 1819, Erste has stood for
financial inclusion and the promotion of economic prosperity.

Today, the banking group serves more than 23 million customers through
fully-fledged banks in eight core markets: Austria, Croatia, the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Erste Group
offers private, corporate, and institutional clients a broad range of
banking and financial services – from retail and private banking to
corporate and transaction banking, as well as asset management. In doing
so, the Erste Group combines digital innovation with a strong branch
network.

For the first half of 2026, the group reported a net result of 2.0 billion
euros, while its CET1 ratio stood at 15.2%. More than 55,000 employees
contribute to the banking group’s success. Its total assets amounted to
461.1 billion euros.

You can find more information on Erste Group at:
[1] http://www.erstegroup.com

 

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Additional features:

File: [2]Peter Bosek_c Pavel Becker
File: [3]Stefan Dörfler_c Pavel Becker

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30.07.2026 CET/CEST This Corporate News was distributed by [4]EQS Group

View original content: [5]EQS News

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Language: English
Company: Erste Group Bank AG
Am Belvedere 1
1100 Wien
Austria
Phone: +43(0)5 0100 – 13425
E-mail: press@erstegroup.com
Internet: www.erstegroup.com
ISIN: AT0000652011
WKN: 909943
Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Frankfurt (Basic Board),
Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate BSX; Vienna Stock
Exchange (Official Market)
LEI Code: PQOH26KWDF7CG10L6792
EQS News ID: 2373938

 
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