Erste Group Bank reported full-year 2025 net profit of €3.5 billion, exceeding analyst expectations by 13% and rising from €3.1 billion in 2024. The Austrian banking group demonstrated resilience as strong customer business growth offset higher costs from its Polish acquisition, with CEO Peter Bosek highlighting the strength across all markets.

The bank's core revenue came in approximately 1% above consensus, with net interest income increasing to €7.8 billion and net fee and commission income rising 8.6% to €3.2 billion. Customer loans grew 6.4% to €232.0 billion, while operating expenses climbed 5.8% to €5.6 billion due to Poland integration costs.

Despite banking levies surging 52% to €372 million, Erste maintained a solid CET1 capital ratio of 19.3%. For 2026, the bank forecasts loan growth above 5% and net interest income growth around 5%, though reported net profit may dip below €4 billion after Poland's full consolidation.