Erste Group Bank (EBS) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 operating result reached €2.316bn, up 2.7% QoQ; net profit attributable to owners was €1.121bn, up 2.2% QoQ.

• Strong NII and fee income, lower QoQ costs and moderate risk costs supported record quarterly earnings; Q3 ROTE reached 23.8%.

• 9M net profit attributable to owners rose 20.6% YoY to €3.095bn; first-time consolidation of Erste Bank Polska materially affected comparisons.

Financial highlights

• Q3 operating income was €3.185bn, up 9.1% YoY; operating expenses were €1.756bn, up 28.9% reported, including Erste Bank Polska costs.

• Q3 NII was €2.872bn, up 45.5% reported and 8.7% pro forma excluding Erste Bank Polska; net fee income was €974m, up 22.0% and 10.7%, respectively.

• 9M operating income rose 40.1% to €12.031bn and operating result 49.1% to €6.737bn; NII increased 43.4% to €8.258bn and fees 24.0% to €2.903bn.

• NII rose 5.9% QoQ, or ~4.5% adjusted for minor Q2 and Q3 one-offs; quarterly net fee income reached a record.

• 9M impairment result was a €753m expense versus €318m, primarily reflecting a €302m one-off IFRS 9 allowance on the acquired Polish portfolio.

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 reported net profit is expected above €4bn, ROTE above 20% and EPS uplift above 20%; loan stock guidance is above €290bn including Erste Bank Polska.

• 2026 NII is expected above €11bn including Erste Bank Polska; excluding it, NII growth guidance is above 6%.

• Fees are expected near €4bn including Erste Bank Polska, with ~10% growth excluding it; cost guidance is ~€7bn and CIR below 45% including, below 46% excluding it.

• Loan growth is expected at 6–8% across core markets; 2026 risk-cost guidance is 25–30 bps, adjusted for the €302m one-off Polish ECL charge.

• Detailed 2027 guidance is planned with FY results in February; 2030 ambitions include EPS above €15 and ROTE above 20%.