Romania's economy and banking market "still offer many opportunities," and Erste has every reason to stay here, especially since Romania has become a core market for the Austrian group after the Czech Republic, said Willi Cernko, the group's new CEO, during a press conference on H1 results held in Vienna.

In Romania, Erste is the main shareholder of the financial group BCR.

"Even if it has fallen behind in certain aspects, Romania still has potential and offers many opportunities," said Cernko, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

Erste has a positive forecast for Romania, expecting its economy to grow by 5.1% in 2022, compared to a more moderate average growth of 3.7% in the Central and Eastern European markets where Erste is operating, or compared to a 2.7% growth rate for the euro area.

In 2023, the group sees economic growth of 4% in Romania, the highest level among all the markets where Erste owns banks.

Willi Cernko also said that Erste had a very good first semester, but this development will not happen in H2, given the economic challenges and the prospect of recession.

"The worst case scenario would be if Russia stopped all gas to Europe, but that is not our base scenario," he said.

(Photo: Diony Teixeira/ Dreamstime)

andrei@romania-insider.com