BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Erste Group Bank AG (EBO.DE) on Thursday reported a strong improvement in its first-quarter performance, driven by higher income, although provisions increased.
Operating income rose to €3.939 billion from €2.802 billion, supported by growth across all major income lines.
Net interest income increased 42.8% to €2.674 billion from €1.872 billion, while net fee and commission income climbed to €965 million from €780 million. Trading income also improved to €229 million from €97 million.
Operating profit rose to €2.167 billion from €1.458 billion.
Impairment charges rose sharply to €439 million from €85 million.
Despite this, net profit attributable to shareholders increased to €879 million from €743 million.
Profitability metrics improved, with return on tangible equity rising to 18.1% from 15.2%, while the cost/income ratio improved to 45.0% from 48.0%. However, the provisioning ratio increased to 0.68% from 0.15%.
Total assets rose to 22.1% €450 billion from €368.6 billion a year earlier.
Looking ahead, Erste Group expects a return on tangible equity of around 19% and earnings per share growth of more than 20% compared with 2025, adjusted for one-off and acquisition-related effects linked to the integration of Erste Bank Polska.
The bank also expects net interest income to exceed €11 billion in 2026 across its eight core markets.
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