Bankers race for gold in the CEE’s new era

TLDR: Bankers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are hopeful for a new golden era in the region, fueled by record regional bank profits and strong capital ratios in Western Europe. However, recent court rulings on Swiss franc mortgages pose a challenge to potential bank acquisitions in Poland. Compared to the pre-2008 era, banking in CEE is now focused more on financial-sector stability. The CEE banking sector is experiencing a confidence rarely seen since the mid-2000s when big banks in Western Europe were buying banks in the region. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been a significant investor in CEE since 2008, and its head of financial institutions described the current situation as the “thriving days of emerging Europe.”