World’s Best Banks in Central and Eastern Europe 2025

Albania | BANKA KOMBETARE TREGTARE

BKT Albania continued to consolidate its position as the country’s largest bank, with a market share of just under 24.6% in total system assets (as of September 2024). It also led the sector with a 25.4% market share of total deposits, at $4.6 billion. Throughout the year, BKT Albania improved its digital banking services, introducing new products and features to its digital experience. The bank migrated its IT services to a newly constructed state-of-the-art data center, underscoring its focus on environmentally responsible banking.

Armenia | ARDSHINBANK

For the first time since 2020, Ardshinbank is our Best Bank winner in Armenia. Income rose 115% last year, partly thanks to a 45% jump in net interest income. Assets grew by 22%—the bank had a market share of 18.3% in the banking sector—while equity jumped by 70%. Ardshinbank points to its strong multichannel distribution platform, featuring 65 branches throughout the country, as a key driver of growth along with its strong digital platform, where 82% of all customer transactions are now made. In addition to its 387,000 retail customers and long-standing blue chip corporate client base, Ardshinbank is particularly strong with small and midsized companies.

Belarus | PRIORBANK

n Belarus, Priorbank is the Best Bank winner for the second year in a row, having won several times in previous years as well. During 2024, equity rose 31.3% to €625 million while assets grew 4.3% to more than €2.4 billion, and ROE jumped 445 bps to 30.72%. Owned since 2003 by Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), Priorbank was sold last fall to an investor from the United Arab Emirates. Selling Priorbank “lowered political risk for RBI as well as reducing complexity within our group,” explained RBI CEO Johann Strobl in an interview published in RBI’s annual report. The close association of Belarus with Russia in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict made ownership of a bank in Belarus a source of ongoing challenges for RBI.

Bosnia & Herzegovina | UNICREDIT BANK DD BOSNIA I HERCEGOVINA

Raiffeisen Bank d.d. Bosnia i Hercegovina is the Best Bank winner in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serving just over 450,000 customers at 84 branches, the country’s second-largest bank (as of mid-2024) held a market share of total assets of 13.4% and 12.2% of total loans while accounting for 13.7% of all deposits. For the full year, ROE jumped by 443 bps to 24.05% and ROA increased by 110 bps to 3.45%. Digitalization is central to how the bank interacts with its customers. Nearly half of its clients, it reports, now use mobile banking while around 90% activate mobile banking upon becoming customers.

Bulgaria | UNICREDIT BULBANK

In Bulgaria, UniCredit Bulbank returns to take Global Finance’s Best Bank award as Bulbank as it continues to reinforce its market-leading position. Through the first nine months of 2024, the bank increased its market share of total loans to 13.4% while posting an 18% share of system assets, up 6.4% over the same period the previous year. The bank achieved record profitability, accounting for 22.6% of total systemwide profits.

Croatia | OTP BANK

In Croatia, OTP Bank takes the title of Best Bank. With €8.7 billion in assets, it ranked as the fourth-largest institution in the country. It was also fourth by net profit, at €123 million over the first nine months of 2024. OTP saw substantial improvements in its market share in retail and corporate loans over the period. Profitability increased dramatically, with ROE rising by 200 bps to 16.1% and ROA jumping from 1.7% to 2%. The bank points to its ongoing agile transformation—enabling it to react more quickly to market and customer demands and to push digitalization—as a reason for its improving results.

OTP is also focused on its climate impact. The bank launched Sunny Loans in 2023 to help micro and small business customers with installation of solar panels and other energy-efficiency equipment. These “reflect our commitment to the preservation of the environment by promoting sustainable investments,” the bank says.

Czech Republic | CSOB

For the sixth year in a row, market leader CSOB has taken home Global Finance’s Best Bank crown for the Czech Republic. Over the first nine months of 2024, net profit at CSOB rose 2% to CZK13.6 billion (about $619 million), as return on assets (ROA) edged up 2 basis points (bps) to 0.92%. Operating income increased 7%, driven by higher net interest income. The bank boasted a market share of 19.9% in total loans and 19.6% in deposits as of last September. 

CSOB talks of its proposition of offering banking and insurance products under the same roof as key to its competitive position in the Czech market. Its asset management business, which saw total assets under management grow by 19%, is also fundamental to its value proposition. As CEO Aleš Blažek explains, “By financing and other services, we guide businesses towards the necessary transformation of the Czech economy into a more sustainable and technologically advanced one.” 

Estonia | LUMINOR BANK

Returning as Global Finance’s winner in Estonia after a two-year hiatus is Luminor Bank. It is the third-largest bank in the country in terms of total loans, at €10.5 billion, which was up 2% in the fourth quarter and equated to a market share of 13.8%. Luminor ended 2024 with total assets of €15.7 billion and deposits of €11.4 billion. ROE for the year stood at 8.4%.

Luminor intends to continue building on its strong foundation by doing more of the same. “We are focused on three areas,” says chief executive Wojciech Sass: “to improve our value proposition to customers; to streamline our IT for the benefit of our customers, and so be more efficient; and to be compliant with changing regulatory requirements.”

Georgia | BANK OF GEORGIA

In Georgia, the Bank of Georgia takes home the Best Bank award for the second year running. It holds 42% of all customer deposits in the country and accounts for 38.9% of all loans. It saw a 12% increase in customers, to nearly 2 million.

As of the end of September 2024, operating income was up 9.9% and the bank posted ROE of 22.9%. Bank of Georgia says digital innovation, featuring mobile super apps, has been central to its strong levels of customer satisfaction and continued growth. During the year, the bank expanded into Armenia, acquiring Ameriabank, last year’s Global Finance Best Bank in Armenia.

Hungary | OTP BANK

The overall CEE winner, OTP Bank, also takes home Global Finance’s award in its home market of Hungary. With a market share by assets of 29.3% as of the end of the third quarter of 2024—for growth of 40 bps—OTP is the country’s biggest bank. OTP posted asset growth in euro terms of 1% during the period and an adjusted ROE of 10.2%. A significant effort to increase its range of services and expand the bank’s presence in customers’ everyday lives was the launch of fizz.hu, an online marketplace platform for selling third-party goods.

Kosovo | BANKA KOMBETARE TREGTARE

Banka Kombetare Tregtare (BKT) is a double winner as Best Bank in Kosovo and Albania. In Kosovo, BKT is the third-largest bank by assets, with more than €1.4 billion accounting for 16.9% of the country’s total banking-system assets. During 2024, BKT posted asset growth of 19.4%, driven by retail deposits that rose 19.9% and loans that grew 28%. BKT has been Kosovo’s fastest-growing institution by various measures for the past five years. In 2024, net profit rose 16.6% to €23.6 million.

Latvia | CITADELE BANKA

Next door, Citadele Banka is the five-time Best Bank winner in Latvia. Citadele’s deposit base rose by 5% in 2024, reaching just over €4 billion as of yearend. ROE stood at 17.5% for the year. The number of active customers rose by 6% to hit 401,000, serviced at 11 branches in Latvia (as well as six in Lithuania and one in Estonia). Approximately 89% of customers were active digital-channel users in 2024.

Lithuania | SIAULIU BANKA

After a one-year break, Siauliu Banka returns as Best Bank in Lithuania. It posted a 2% growth in total assets to €4.9 billion in 2024 while deposits stood at €3.6 billion. ROE fell to 14%, from 15.4% in 2023. Net interest income rose by 2%, but has posted a compound annual growth rate of 16.9% since 2018. The bank reports that its following a multiyear strategy with the main objective of delivering the best customer experience. One way it aims to do so is via what it calls “commitment to phygital:” that is, by “bridging the physical and digital worlds to create leading client experience.”

Moldova | MAIB

In Moldova, MAIB repeats as Best Bank. It is the biggest player in the market, boasting market share in assets of 35%, loans of 37.9%, and 35.7% in total deposits. The bank has over 1.1 million customers (up 8% on the year) and 101 branches. Profit rose 15.5% in 2024 while ROE declined by 96 bps to 18%. MAIB continued its digitalization process in 2024. CEO Giorgi Shagidze credits an agile transformation at the bank in 2024 for reducing time needed to launch a new product—two weeks rather than three. Central to the future of Moldova was the October 2024 “yes” vote in a referendum on future European Union membership, which Shagidze predicts will help create a “stable, forward-looking environment” for the country.

Montenegro | CKB BANKA

OTP Group subsidiary CKB banka (Crnogorska Komercijalna Banka) is the winner for the seventh time in a row as Best Bank in Montenegro. It continued its growth trajectory, last year as assets jumped 3.7% to the end of September, and equity jumped 8.2% while deposits grew by 3.5%. The bank’s ROE hit 22.7%, while the ROA was a strong 3.4%. CKB banka is by far the largest bank in Montenegro, with the highest market share in nearly every business segment—just over one-quarter of total system assets and deposits and 33.8% of total loans. Key to solidifying, and continuing to build upon, its dominant position is an all-encompassing transformation, launched in early 2024, of its customer-service effort to improve customer satisfaction.

North Macedonia | KOMERCIJALNA BANKA

In North Macedonia, Komercijalna banka is a fourth-time winner as Best Bank. During 2024, its total assets grew by 9.2% to €2.9 billion, for a system market share of 22.1%, to making the country’s largest bank. ROE rose 370 bps to 23.6% while ROA grew 60 bps to 2.8%. During the year, Komercijalna banka continued implementing technological upgrades, enabling the digital onboarding of clients and digitaliziation of its products and services. One notable improvement was the launch of a program enabling customers to apply for online loans.

Poland | BANK MILLENNIUM

In Poland, Bank Millennium is the winner of the Best Bank award for the fifth consecutive year. For 2024, it posted a 25% increase in net profit while growth in adjusted ROE clocked in at 18.5%. Total deposits rose by 9%, and assets increased by 11%. The bank, which in 2024 celebrated the 35th anniversary of its founding, touts new currency-exchange offerings for customers, a comprehensive redesign of its app, and the implementation of a new buy now, pay later service, as some of its key advances for customers during the year. As part of the bank’s growth strategy, management board chair Joao Bras Jorge aims to double the size of the corporate loan portfolio and increase the customer count by 20%.

Romania | RAIFFEISEN BANK

Raiffeisen Bank returns as this year’s Best Bank in Romania. Through the end of the third quarter of 2024, the bank’s assets grew 10% to €14.9 billion, for a market share of 8.8%. Operating income for the full year rose 8% to €820 million, although net profits fell 3% to €337 million. A significant growth driver has been the bank’s financial planning service, which is partly delivered via tablet. In July, Raiffeisen Bank Romania launched an improved online customer onboarding, which resulted in a fivefold increase in digitally acquired customers during the third quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2023.

Serbia | BANCA INTESA BEOGRAD

Banca Intesa Beograd takes Global Finance’s Best Bank award in Serbia for the eighth year in a row. The country’s biggest bank, it boasts a 15.6% market share with assets rising 11.1%. It was the second-largest bank in the country last year on an equity capital basis, with 13.4% of the Serbian banking system’s total equity (up 12.3%). In 2024, Banca Intesa Beograd boosted operating income by 20% as ROE rose 300 bps to 25.9% and ROA rose 40 bps to 3.11%.

A centerpiece of the bank’s technological advances during the year was the launch of its effort to roll out an AI digital assistant to bank employees. This will provide real-time answers to questions and accurate information on a range of topics as part of an ongoing effort to improve customer experience.

Slovakia | VUB

Intesa Sanpaolo banking group member VUB is Best Bank in Slovakia for the fifth year running. Net profit fell 3.8% due to a new bank levy, but assets grew 23.6% to reach €24.5 billion. VUB increased its market share in retail lending (21.3%) and corporate lending (up 110 bps to 20.4%). A major focus for the bank—with 122 retail branches and 32 corporate branches in the country—was to lay the groundwork for introducing a new internet and mobile banking platform, which it rolled out to 250,000 customers before the end of the year.

Slovenia | OTP BANK

OTP Bank also wins as Best Bank in Slovenia. Previous winner Nova KBM became a part of the OTP Group in February 2023, and its merger with SKB banka—OTP’s existing presence in Slovenia—was completed last August. With the completion of the merger, the combined bank had 750,000 clients and 78 branches. As of the end of September, it had total assets of €14.8 billion and posted a net profit for the period of €230 million. In addition, the bank points to its central role in issuing Republic of Slovenia bonds and introducing contactless payments, partnering with Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Garmin Pay, as key milestones for 2024.

Turkey | Akbank

After a year’s hiatus, Akbank returns as winner of Best Bank in Turkey. Since 2021, it has seen a 69% increase in its active customer base to 14.2 million. During that time, the penetration of digital customers has grown by eight percentage points to 86% of the total client base. Against a challenging macro backdrop highlighted by 60.9% inflation in 2024, Akbank’s core revenues rose 22% on higher fee income. The bank also increased its market share in consumer loans by 1.9 percentage points. Its ROE for the year stood at 19% and ROA clocked in at 1.9%.

Akbank cites its longtime application of AI as a source of competitive advantage. “AI-based applications have been central to Akbank’s business model and decision-making for many years,” says Abkank CEO Kaan Gür. “The rapid deployment of generative-AI solutions and their use in our bank further strengthens this approach.”