...Outlook: Positive S&P Global Ratings' positive outlook on Erste Group Bank AG (Erste) reflects our view that, over the next two years, a clearer indication of the pace and size of Erste's build-up of additional loss-absorbing capacity (ALAC) could eventually lead us to include one notch of uplift in the rating. We expect that the operating environment in Erste's biggest core markets will remain stable, facilitating the generation of sound earnings from its traditional customer-led retail and corporate customer business. We would most likely raise the rating if greater insight into the ramp-up leads us to add to the rating one notch of support for ALAC. However, this would hinge on our view of the group's creditworthiness as being clearly in line with that of 'A' rated peers. While less likely, an upgrade could follow an improvement in Erste's operating environment or a moderate shift in operations toward lower-risk countries that leads us to revise the anchor to '###+' from '###'. At this...
