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Wenceslas looks out on a country
full
of foreign banks |
Although large local corporates have commanded the
attentions of most western banks, Austria's Erste Bank is aiming
its regional expansion at a less coveted market, but one it
believes may have greater potential. By targeting consumers of
retail banking services, Erste Bank is playing to its core
strengths while developing a distribution network that is among the
largest in the region.
Almost immediately following its formation some four years ago
when Erste Bank and GiroCredit Bank merged to form Austria's
second-biggest bank, Erste Bank has aggressively built up
operational size and scale in central and eastern Europe.
And despite the fact that Erste Bank was not among the early
entrants - such as domestic competitors RZB and Bank
Austria/Creditanstalt - the retail focus has enabled it to do so
largely in a vacuum.
"We are not latecomers, but front-runners," says...
