Erste Group will launch its voluntary tender offer for shares in Erste Bank Polska on Monday, 2 November 2026, after receiving regulatory approval, the bank said on Friday as it raised its full-year lending target to above 290 billion euros. The offer price will be approximately PLN 713 per share, and Erste aims to lift its holding from 49% to more than 50% without exceeding 75%.
The net result for the first nine months rose 20.6% to 3.1 billion euros including Erste Bank Polska, from 2.6 billion euros a year earlier, while net profit excluding the Polish bank rose 7.9%. Return on tangible equity rose to 20.9% from 16.8% a year earlier, and loans including Erste Bank Polska grew 24% to 287 billion euros.
FUNDING THE POLISH STAKE
Erste said it intends to fund the offer fully from internal resources and expects to keep its CET1 ratio above 14.25% after completion, with settlement anticipated in December 2026. The pro-forma CET1 ratio stood at 15.0% at the end of the third quarter, down from 19.3% in December 2025, before it closed the purchase of a controlling stake in Erste Bank Polska.
A free float of at least 25% is in line with a commitment made to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority when Erste bought its 49% stake in January 2026, the bank said. "Our ambition to grow our loan book to more than 290 billion euros reflects both our confidence in the region and our commitment to financing its future," said Peter Bosek, chief executive of Erste Group.
A SAVINGS BANK GROWN ACROSS CENTRAL EUROPE
Founded in 1819 as the first Austrian savings bank, Erste now serves more than 23 million customers through eight banks in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. Its total assets were 462.5 billion euros after the first three quarters of 2026.
Austria has a dense banking system of 445 credit institutions, shaped by its Raiffeisen and savings-bank sectors, according to the TGB market profile. Erste Group and Raiffeisen Bank International are the country's two largest groups.
LEVIES RISE AS REVENUE GROWS
Including Poland, net interest income rose 43.4% to 8.3 billion euros; on a comparable basis it grew 7.0%. The cost/income ratio improved to 44.0% with Poland included, from 47.4% a year earlier. Erste now expects net interest income excluding the Polish bank to grow by more than 6%, against about 5% before, and fee and commission income, also excluding the Polish bank, by around 10%, up from 7-9%.
Banking levies rose 86.3% to 529 million euros, driven by higher charges in Hungary and Romania and, for the first time, Polish banking taxes of 148 million euros. Risk costs were 21 basis points of average gross customer loans, against 19 basis points a year earlier, and the NPL ratio including Erste Bank Polska improved to 2.3%, from 2.4% in December.
THE TGB VIEW
Erste Group ranks 28th in Europe in the TGB Bank Rankings with US$433.1bn of assets and a 13.3% return on equity for 2025, just behind KBC Group at US$466.9bn and well ahead of its Austrian rival Raiffeisen Bank International, whose return on equity was 6.5%. Its pro-forma CET1 ratio was 15.0% at the end of the third quarter, against 19.3% in December 2025 before the Polish deal closed, and Erste expects to keep it above 14.25% after the offer: the figure to watch at settlement. The subscription period starts on 3 November and settlement is expected in December 2026.
Related: Erste Group planned tender to lift Erste Bank Polska stake to as much as 75%
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