Erste Group Bank (EGB), an Austria-based financial services provider with over EUR 201.4 billion (USD 295.2 billion) in total assets, has launched the ESPA VINIS Microfinance Fund. The fund will focus on microfinance in emerging markets, particularly South-East Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. It will invest directly in microfinance bonds as well as other microfinance funds. Further financial information has not been released.
Mr Heinz Bednar, Chairman of Erste Sparinvest, a fund manager owned by a subsidiary of EGB, said: “Microfinance is not as significant as equity or bonds yet they can be an important component of any portfolio since they are not correlated with traditional finance products.”
By: Stefanie Rubin, Research Assistant
About Erste Group Bank:
Erste Group was founded in Austria in 1819. It went public in 1997 in an effort to expand its retail business into Central and Eastern Europe. The company places a particular focus on retail and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Erste Group has more than 17 million clients and over 3,000 branches in eight countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Ukraine. As of 2008, its total assets were EUR 201.4 billion (USD 295.2 billion), with a return on equity (ROE) of 10.1 percent and a cost to income ratio of 57.2 percent.
Additional Resources:
Source Article: Citywire: “New Microfinance Fund Gets Austrian Launch,” http://www.citywire.co.uk/selector/-/news/new-products/content.aspx?ID=372899
Erste Group Bank: http://www.erstegroup.com/
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