Best bank: Erste Bank und Sparkassen
Despite a weak Austrian macroeconomic environment in 2025, Erste Bank und Sparkassen delivered strategic expansion, balance sheet growth and investment in customer experience and scalable digital platforms.
The formal merger of Salzburger Sparkasse into Erste Bank Oesterreich in 2025 was intended to simplify the bank’s operating model while increasing regional customer focus and individual advice. The transaction brought into Erste Bank Oesterreich a business that, at the end of 2024, had around 260,000 customers, 600 employees, 41 full-service branches and €8.1 billion in assets. The Salzburger Sparkasse brand was retained after completion in August 2025. The merger supports both scale and continuity: Erste can streamline administrative and management structures without diluting a strong regional banking identity.
Erste’s strategic expansion into Poland adds a major regional growth dimension. The acquisition of a 49% controlling stake in Santander Bank Polska and 50% of Santander TFI, completed in January 2026, was one of the major cross-border European financial sector transactions of recent years. It also comes with a new strategic alliance with Santander, creating a broader cross-border corporate and institutional banking proposition. Austrian companies should benefit from Santander’s international network and product platforms, while Erste brings deep CEE expertise.
In retail banking, a major 2025 innovation was the launch of George Invest, designed to broaden and rejuvenate Erste’s investor base. The product makes investing more accessible through features such as fractional shares, intuitive navigation, tax-friendly investing and custody models, and in-app education through George Invest Stories. This is especially relevant in a market where banks are trying to turn savers into long-term investors. The early evidence is strong: after launch, nearly two-thirds of securities transactions in Austria were carried out by customers under 35.
Other digital capabilities under the George brand include AI chatbot Hey George, which enables customers to ask product and process questions in natural language and supports proactive fraud-related use cases. The bank has also completed the migration of its Austrian corporate clients to George Business, with the platform supporting around 75,000 businesses across Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania.
