11 percent increase in profit

“Highly Attractive”: Oberbank Aims to Grow in Hungary

Oberbank is headquartered in Linz.(Bild: Kerschbaummayr Werner)

Linz-based Oberbank increased its profit by 11 percent in the first half of the year to just under 200 million euros—and plans to expand into neighboring Hungary in the future. The bank considers Hungary a “highly attractive market” for several reasons.

“Hungary is a highly attractive market for us,” says Martin Seiter, Oberbank’s CEO-designate. And not just because of the new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, who is significantly more pro-European: the hotel and tourism market is booming, solar power systems are heavily subsidized, and the EU is planning investments. For these reasons, Oberbank—whose core business is corporate clients—anticipates growth opportunities in Hungary. The Linz-based regional bank already has 13 locations in the neighboring country, and staff at some of them are set to be increased.

Companies are investing to cut costs
Profits also showed an increase in the first half of 2026: Oberbank boosted its profits by 11 percent to 199 million euros. The main driver of this growth was net commission income (+13.4 percent), i.e., revenue from fees for securities transactions and similar activities. The bank’s equity investments—Oberbank holds significant stakes in two banks as well as in Voestalpine—also increased. Net interest income, on the other hand, fell by 0.5 percent to 312 million euros.

Corporate loans rose by just under five percent to 18.6 billion euros. According to Seiter, this is because many companies are investing in automation and digitalization to reduce their costs—and to do so, they need loans. The bad news for the region: “We hardly finance capacity expansions in Austria,” says Seiter.

Four Branches Consolidated
Oberbank currently has around 2,100 employees and 161 branches—four fewer than a year ago. Two locations each in Vienna and the Czech Republic were closed as a result of mergers. Seiter does not want to provide an outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year—the geopolitical upheavals are too uncertain.

ECB supervision is imminent
The bank’s equity rose by 7.6 percent to 4.493 billion euros at the end of the first half of the year. “We are also clearly on track with our total assets, which stand at 29.8 billion euros,” noted the CEO-designate, pointing to a 3.4 percent increase. “Once we reach 30 billion, we’ll also be subject to ECB supervision, and we expect this process to begin next year.” The bank has been preparing for this for five years now.

Seiter himself will officially take over the position of CEO of Oberbank at the turn of the year, succeeding his predecessor, Franz Gasselsberger. The latter is already stepping aside in the media—leaving it to his successor to present the bank’s results.