Erste Group Bank (EBO) Q3 2026 Earnings Report

The call was strongly positive overall. Erste Group reported records across revenue, operating profit, net profit, fee income, returns and cost efficiency, while upgrading several 2026 targets and confirming net profit above EUR 4 billion and return on tangible equity above 20%. Credit quality remained stable and funding execution was strong. The main negatives were lower trading and fair-value income, flat quarterly deposits, currency-related effects in Hungary and Poland, higher risk-weighted assets and temporary capital pressure, Polish campaign and integration costs, expected Czech pension-fee pressure, and continued geopolitical and competitive uncertainty. The positive developments significantly outweighed the challenges.

For 2026, Erste expects organic loan growth excluding Erste Bank Polska toward the upper end of the 6%-8% target range, resulting in year-end net loan stock north of EUR 290 billion; net interest income excluding Erste Bank Polska should grow above 6% and the enlarged group should surpass its EUR 11 billion target by a comfortable margin, fees ex-Polska should grow by about 10% while group fees remain guided at about EUR 4 billion, the cost-income ratio excluding Erste Bank Polska should be below 46% and lower than 45% including Polska, costs remain guided at about EUR 7 billion with roughly a 3% cost uplift for Erste ex Polska, risk costs including Erste Bank Polska should be at the lower end of the 25 basis points-30 basis points target range, group NPL coverage is projected somewhere around 70%, return on tangible equity should be above 20%, earnings per share uplift higher than 20%, and reported net profit above EUR 4 billion; CET1 is expected to be somewhat higher at year-end than the third quarter pro forma level of 15%, while the management target of 14.25% remains unchanged, and detailed 2027 guidance will be provided with fourth quarter results at the end of February.