Erste Group to Sell Ukrainian Subsidiary

Erste Group to Sell Ukrainian Subsidiary / Picture: © Erste Group / Helmut Lackner

For Erste Group, the expectations were not fulfilled. Thus, the Ukrainian subsidiary may be sold soon. The Austrian banking group will check the market conditions. According to the spokeswoman Yelena Pavlovskaya, Erste Group considers whether to stay in Ukraine. The final decision will be announced this year. As a result, it is not excluded that Erste Group will keep its Ukrainian subsidiary. At the moment, the sales conditions are not the best in the banking industry.

In the first six months of 2012, the Ukrainian subsidiary recorded a net loss of € 17.8m. Erste Group´s subsidiaries in Hungary and Romania registered losses too. However, Erste Group is only a small player in Ukraine. The Austrian banking group ranks 22 among 176 banks.

Erste Group is not the first Western banking group which considers leaving the Ukraine. Before, German Commerzbank withdrew from the Ukraine. Swedish SEB and Swedbank downsized their private customer segment.