Erste Hungary to cut staff, restructure to save costs
The chairman-CEO of Austrian-owned Erste Bank Hungary told journalists on Friday that the lender plans to cut staff by 7-9% and merge its brokerage into the parent company, thus bringing its cost-to-revenue ratio under 60% in 2018, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.
Radovan Jelasity said the bankʼs cost-to-revenue ratio is 63% at present, excluding the impact of the transaction duty; headcount stands at around 3,000.
The measures are not related to Ersteʼs recent takeover of Citiʼs retail business in Hungary, Jelasity said. Erste will remain a universal bank providing the full range of services, he insisted.
Erste is simplifying its structure and operations to prepare for stricter market regulations and to maintain its competitiveness in the low interest environment in the long term, he said.
Erste targets a 10% cost reduction next year, he added.
Last year, revenue reached HUF 109 billion and costs came to HUF 61 bln, though the latter included the expense of taking over Citiʼs retail business, Jelasity noted.
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