Erste buys back the state stake in the Hungarian Erste Bank Hungary. Will pay more than double the then selling price

The Austrian banking group Group Bank will buy back the 15 percent stake held by the Hungarian state fund Corvinus International Investments in its Hungary division. The transaction values ​​the stake at HUF 87.55 billion (CZK 5.7 billion), which is 125 percent more than the original sale price. The company announced this in a press release today. is also the owner of Česká spořitelna.

The Hungarian state thus achieved a return that is more than two and a half times the invested amount. In addition, Hungary paid a dividend of about 20 billion forints (1.3 billion CZK) to Corvinus. The transaction should close by the end of this month.

A 2015 memorandum of understanding between the Hungarian state, the group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the purchase of stakes in the Hungarian division of Corvinus and the EBRD included a predetermined exit mechanism for the minority stakes involved. The EBRD still owns the stake in Hungary.

The agreement between , Budapest and the EBRD marked a fundamental change for the Hungarian banking sector, she said. The aim of the agreement was to strengthen the country’s financial sector, increase its efficiency, profitability and the volume of bank loans to Hungarian companies, the public sector and citizens.

In 2015, Erste Bank Hungary promised to launch a three-year credit program in Hungary in the amount of 550 million euros (13.5 billion CZK). The press release said, without further details, that the division exceeded its commitment.