Visit to Erste Group Bank AG
Our first event in 2026 was the visit to Erste Group Bank AG headquaters "Erste Campus" by the invitation of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gottfried Haber, former Vice Governor of the Central Bank of Austria (OeNB - Österreichische Nationalbank).
Chairman Dr. Haber gave an excellent insight in the development and the activities of the bank including its further expansion to Poland, where Erste Group Bank AG completed successfully the acquisition of the controlling stake of the 3rd largest bank in Poland, the Santander Bank Polska S.A. It was the largest cross-border transition in the European banking sector in the past 20 years. Dr. Haber explained the good reasons for the engagement of Erste Group Bank AG in Poland with its strong economic growth.
Thus Erste Group Bank continued its long history of bank acquisitions in CEE and SEE. Dr. Haber pointed out that the acquisitions are a long term strategy. Having developed out of a savings bank, the Erste Bank maintains its cautious policy in its steady expansion. With a new strategy since 1997 Erste Bank was among the banks entering the CEE/SEE markets after the turning point (Wende) with the purchase of Česká spořitelna, Slovenská sporiteľňa (SLSP) and other banks, starting in the neighborhood of Austria. Now Erste Group Bank AG is active in its core market with full banking operations in 8 countries of CEE/SEE and another 4 SEE-countries with indirect presence and extended home market. Furthermore Erste Group has also branches in Germany, Hong Kong and New York.
Erste Group Bank AG was founded in 1819 as the first Austrian savings bank. Today, Erste Group’s over 55,000 employees serve around 23 million clients in 8 core markets, including through more than 2,000 branches. Erste Group is therefore the leading financial services provider in Central and Eastern Europe.
Chairman Dr. Haber presented a detailed PP including an overview of the current development of the CEE economy as well as the Austrian economy and prospects. He confirmed that online banking becomes more and more important for Erste Group Bank being well prepaired with its most modern and smart online system George After the presentation Chairman Dr. Haber was ready to continue in an extensive way with individual discussions over refreshments and snacks.
Open Curriculum Vitae Univ.-Prof. Dr. Haber, Chairman of the Supervisory Board:
Personal information:
Year of birth: 1972
Nationality: Austrian
Career:
Since 2012: University Professor, University for Continuing Education Krems
2019 – 2024: Vice Governor, Austrian National Bank
2014 – 2019: Vice Dean, University for Continuing Education Krems
2019 – 2024: Alternate Governor, Governing Council and General Council of the European Central Bank
2019 – 2024: Alternate Governor, International Monetary Fund
2019 – 2024: Member of the SSM Supervisory Board
2002 – 2019: Managing Partner, CBSC Unternehmensberatung GmbH
2002 – 2004: Research fellow, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Economic Policy Analysis in collaboration with the World Bank
2000 – 2019: Lecturer on credit management, risk management and strategy
2000 – 2004: University lecturer (Department of Banking), Vienna University of Economics and Business
1997 – 2007: University Assistant (Department of Economics), University Klagenfurt
Education:
Habilitation in Economics at the University of Klagenfurt awarded 2006
Diploma in Business administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business awarded 2004
Doctoral studies in social and economic sciences (Economics) at the Vienna University of Economics and Business awarded 2000
Diploma in Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business awarded 1996
Committee representation:
Audit Committee: Vice Chairman
IT and Digital Committee: Vice Chairman
Remuneration Committee: Vice Chairman
Risk Committee: Vice Chairman
Nomination Committee: Chairman
Strategy and Sustainability Committee: Vice Chairman
Steering and Coordination Committee: Chairman
Memberships in statutory supervisory boards and similar functions:
Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG (chairman)
Caritas der Erzdiözese Wien (Caritasverband) gemeinnützige GmbH (Vice Chairman)
