Strong franchise in Austria and several Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Stable operating revenues from traditional customer-led retail and commercial banking operations. Funding profile dominated by granular retail deposits. Sensitivity to economic and political developments in the CEE region. Moderate reliance on wholesale funding. S&P Global Ratings' stable outlook on Erste Group Bank AG (Erste) reflects our view that its improved risk-adjusted capitalization now provides the group with a sufficient buffer to withstand many unforeseen risks arising from its CEE operations in the next 12-24 months. We consider the operating environment in Erste's biggest core markets--Austria and the Czech Republic--to be stable, allowing it to generate steady revenues from its traditional customer-led retail and corporate customer business. In our
