Given how well Erste Bank is doing, chief executive Bernd Spalt’s exit over disagreements with his board comes as a shock to the banking community, both in Vienna and across central Europe. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only served to emphasize how well Erste is doing versus its regional peers.
Staff at the Austrian lender are unused to frequent changes at the top. While Spalt was previously deputy CEO and spent his entire career at Erste, he has only held the chief executive job since early 2020.
Thanks for your interest in Euromoney!
To unlock this article:
