The Austrian bank Erste Group expects better performance from its subsidiaries in Romania and Hungary this year, said CEO Andreas Treichl in an interview with the newspaper.
In an interview published on Wednesday in the WirtschaftsBlatt newspaper, Treichl stated that Erste has established control over risks in Romania after significant write-offs in 2011 and 2012.
“We have written off part of the value of companies and believe that from a purely banking perspective, 2013 will be significantly better. We anticipate positive results for 2013,” he emphasized.
As for Hungary, operating in a difficult political environment continues to present numerous challenges, but he believes that “from a banking perspective, the situation in 2013 will look much better.”
The Hungarian government often interferes in the operations of banks by introducing unusual measures. For example, it has allowed borrowers to repay foreign currency mortgage loans at lower exchange rates than market rates, and it has imposed an unusually strict tax on banks.
Treichl also reiterated that the bank could consider acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe, for instance in Serbia or Poland, if the right target becomes available at the right time.
