The rating agency Standard & Poor’s upgraded the rating outlook for Erste Group Bank AG from “negative” to “stable” and also confirmed the long and the short-term ratings of the bank at A and A-1, respectively.
The improved outlook is based essentially on the better-than-expected operating result of Erste Group in the past two years. Additionally, the expectations of the rating agency with respect to credit quality did not fully materialize. S & P believes that risk costs have peaked this year and expects Erste Group to be able to cope with these costs without any problems thanks to its earnings power.The excellent cost/income ratio and the — according to the rating agency — comfortable liquidity situation of the bank have contributed to the improved outlook released today.
For Andreas Treichl, CEO of Erste Group “this move in the current environment is a particularly pleasing confirmation of our strategy and our business model of a retail bank. The fact that the outlook for our subsidiary Ceska sporitelna has been raised to stable and the rating confirmed is in our view further proof of a more positive assessment of the region of Central and Eastern Europe.”
D.C.