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Big shoes to fill for new banking boss

Česká spořitelna CEO looks to foster consumer investment

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 13th, 2007 issue

Jan Přerovský/THE PRAGUE POST
Česka spoŕitelna's new CEO, Germot Mittendorfer, is all smiles.
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Česká spořitelna (ČS), the country’s largest bank by number of customers, has a new boss: Gernot Mittendorfer, 42, former CEO of the Austrian bank Salzburger Parkerstrasse.
Mittendorfer replaces ČS’s long-serving and popular CEO Jack Stack, who joined the advisory board of Erste Bank May 31, the large Austrian retail bank that owns both ČS and Salzburger Parkerstrasse, ahead of his return to the United States.
The transition was moved up a month so that Stack could accept his new position, which, due to corporate regulations, he could not take without handing over ČS’s reins.
During his six-year tenure as CEO, Stack is credited with turning ČS — the state’s only retail bank under communism — into a modern, prosperous bank after its privatization in 2000, with profits reaching 10.4 billion Kč ($495 million) in 2006. More than 5 million people hold accounts with the bank.
To begin the process of filling Stack’s shoes, Mittendorfer met with reporters June 7 to talk about the bank’s future.
Mittendorfer will not change what is already working well at the bank, and he intends to fortify the firm’s status as the country’s leader in electronic payment services and mortgages.
Aside from improving client services, Mittendorfer plans to focus on presenting the bank as a trustworthy asset manager for consumers.
“Czech banking is a dynamic, competitive market,” he said. “There is tremendous development in the mortgage market and asset management.”
The climate is favorable because of a booming economy and a growing taste for investment opportunities, Mittendorfer said.
“In the next few years, I think we will see Czech banking reach American and West European averages,” he said. “People will get wealthier and they will need advice about how to invest their money. We intend to play an active role in this field.”
As a ČS board member since 2000, Mittendorfer oversaw the bank’s corporate banking division, including communal, real estate and mortgage financing.
“In the past, I have seen positive developments in the corporate finance segment, and I would like to expand on this area,” he said.
Another concern for the bank is its aging demographics, and it is Mittendorfer’s goal to attract a younger clientele. ČS is currently researching this market by following the advice of small regional branches, which have experience with quirky local trends, Mittendorfer said.
He added that ČS does not plan any significant steps in lowering personal banking fees.
“We have already made some developments by canceling some, but no bank can live without fees,” he said.
Matching countries such as Austria, where personal banking fees are significantly lower than in the Czech Republic, will be the result of a natural progress in ČS’s packaging of client services, said Mittendorfer.  
“The payment structure develops with the market,” he said. “We haven’t increased fees in quite a while. The rest will come naturally.”
Specific changes in ČS banking fees will be announced at a quarterly conference in late July, said ČS spokeswoman Klára Gajdůšková.

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com


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