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WE ARE HELPING TO PROMOTE AND SECURE PROSPERITY IN CEE MARKET Because Erste sees its purpose as helping to promote and secure prosperity in its market, we are closely working together with the region’s governments, central banks and other stakeholders to implement the support programs as quickly and efficiently as possible
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INGO BLEIER
Member of the Management board of Erste Group Bank AG (responsible for Corporate Banking and Markets business) and President of the Board of Directors of Erste Bank Serbia
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lthough the economic downturn in CEE is likely to be more muted than that for the Eurozone and perhaps less catastrophic than many had at first feared, the recovery may well prove to be more
Focus
AUSTRIA 2020
wavelike and extended than the sharp “V” that many observers had hoped for – especially if the health crisis re-emerges through additional outbreaks later this year, said Ingo Bleier, Erste Group Bank AG and Erste Bank Serbia. How do you assess the overall environment created by pandemic? — Obviously, the coronavirus crisis and the reactions that countries across CEE have taken to combat it have had a sharp impact on the region’s societies and economies. The CEE states have generally been more successful in limiting the health crisis than many Western Eu-
ropean countries and the economies in our markets are now on the path of reopening – something already apparent in such indicators as mobility data, the level of capacity utilisation in automotive plants and – unwelcome – rising levels of pollution. However, there can be no doubt that the impact of the lockdowns will weigh heavily on economies, also in CEE, both in the current quarter and the ones ahead of us. Global supply chains have been disrupted and the business models of sectors like tourism and gastronomy are under massive pressure. What is different this time in comparison to the financial crisis in 2008 and following years?
LIQUIDITY
Securing liquidity was and remains a key concern for private clients, SMEs and corporates across our region
