The registration in the Companies Register of the separation of the Austrian business of “Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG” from the newly founded holding company “Erste Group Bank AG” became legally effective as of 9 August.
The bank took the decision in December 2006 and subsequently all of the necessary steps were taken to implement – as planned – the holding structure organisationally and legally as of mid-2008. The result is a clear separation of tasks between “Erste Group Bank AG”, which as of now will act as a holding company, and its subsidiaries in each of the countries that will now be able to concentrate fully on local customer business.
The holding company, named “Erste Group Bank AG” will concentrate on the strategic steering function and provide the infrastructure for the local customer business in the individual markets. In addition, it will be responsible for the operation of the business areas: Global Markets and Group Corporate and Investment Banking. For customers of the holding, the legal separation entails a change to the company name, the bank sort code and thus the IBAN number as well as the SWIFT code/BIC.
The customers of the Austrian Erste Bank will remain customers of “Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG” and will be served by the branch and customer centres they already use. Only the company registration number will change. The designation of the stock (ISIN AT0000652011) as well as all other symbols will remain unchanged until further notice. The stock represents an investment in the entire Erste Group and is listed on the exchanges of Vienna, Prague and Bucharest. The technical conversion to a new ticker symbol for the Erste Bank share will take place in the fourth quarter of 2008.
As of 11 August, the new website of the holding company, http://www.erstegroup.com, will go online and all visitors to the current website, http://www.erstebank.com, will be automatically rerouted.