Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen

The Erste Bank Oesterreich (official name: Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG), based in Vienna, is the current form of the Erste österreichische Spar-Casse, which was founded in 1819 as an association. It is the oldest existing bank in Austria. It has been operated as a joint-stock company since 1993, was listed on the stock exchange in 1997, entered into a liability association with other Austrian savings banks in 2001, and has been part of the Erste Group since 2008. The Erste Group serves as a holding company for seven banks in Central and Eastern Europe acquired by Erste.

Together with the savings banks, Erste Bank — the lead institution of the Austrian savings bank group — forms one of the largest banking groups in Austria. More than 16,000 employees serve over 4.2 million customers at around 800 branches and offices. The group's customer share in Austria accounts for approximately 30 percent of the entire credit market. In the area of private banking, Erste Bank is one of the market leaders in Austria, managing assets worth around 48 billion euros (including institutional clients).^[1]