HNWIs Fuel Growth: Private banks bet on digital offerings to attract their newest clients.
The years 2024-2025 have seen a continuation of the recovery that started in 2023. Data from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) indicates that Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States enjoyed GDP growth of 2.1% in 2024 rising to an expected 2.4% in 2025.
“Our regions are adapting to a tighter fiscal space, elevated trade policy uncertainty and more intense global competition,” says Beata Javorcik, chief economist for the EBRD. “While growth prospects remain broadly stable … managing debt burdens, safeguarding investment and finding opportunities in new global supply chains will be critical to easing pressures and sustaining momentum.”
For private banks, indications are that the industry has been enjoying a CAGR of around 6% a year, driven by ongoing economic growth boosting capital accumulation across the region.
This has been particularly so in such countries as Poland, Romania and Turkey where the growth of IT and other new industries and rising real wages have led to a dramatic rise in the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) seeking sophisticated and integrated private banking services.
Many of the private banks encourage clients to prioritize ESG criteria in their investments, while digital innovation and hybrid service models—comprising a mix of in-person and digital service—increasingly lie at the forefront of the industry.
Best Private Bank: OTP Bank
OTP Bank Group’s distinctive green logo is a familiar sight across Hungary—indeed, in 11 countries spanning Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Central Asia.
The private bank has integrated over 25 other banks since the early 2000s and Sándor Cśanyni’s 33-year tenure as chairman makes him Europe’s longest serving bank head. Assets under management (AUM) has been on a rising trend for many years, in 2024 rising some €8.74 billion, or 18.4%, from 2023.
The winner of our Best Private Bank in CEE award has a rigorous, innovative and competitive approach to the PB market. Its highly personalized Prestige Private Banking targets HNWIs, where asset management and financial planning plays a central role.
The next tier is the PB Upper Affluent Segment, aimed at a broader range of wealthy clients, with wealth management and investment advisory services offered.
And in response to evolving expectations, OTP has launched a fully Digital Private Banking value proposition, with remote advisory elements, hybrid asset management offerings and innovative contact channels, such as video banking and chat functions. As part of this, its new digital wealth management
platform has reduced average advisory transaction times from 1.5 hours to just 10-15 minutes, substantially improving PB client experience as well as overall operational productivity.
Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing: Erste Private Banking
Erste Private Banking has never been a slouch when it comes to sustainable investing and it has only reinforced its reputation as one of the financial leaders of the green transition in CEE by adding approximately €15 billion in sustainable assets this year. It is committed to being net zero by 2030. The group is active in some of CEE’s fastest growing economies, including Poland, where its acquisition this year of 50% of Santander Polska increased Erste Group’s CEE client base by approximately 50% (to around 18 million customers).
In PB, the group assesses investments via its exclusive Erste Asset Management ESG Genius scoring system; this rates companies on a scale of 0-100 and helps in excluding from investment those with high ESG risks and vulnerabilities. The firm prioritizes investments based on:
- Impact (of a company or project on the environment/society)
- Responsibility (how well a company is adhering to ESG standards) and
- Integration (the extent to which ESG criteria are integrated into the process).
Best Private Bank Digital Solutions for Clients: Akbank Private Banking
Akbank, established 1948, is one of the oldest names in Turkish banking. Today, it embraces the digital banking world with huge enthusiasm, with innovation at the core. As of 2024, the bank had over 13 million active digital customers. Eighty-three percent of its customers now use digital services, typically logging into the mobile app some 30 times a month.
Recent innovations in wealth management include Turkey’s first digital portfolio management service, which is offered to private banking clients through Akbank Mobile. It includes the opportunity to invest in international stock markets such as Nasdaq, FTSE, and DOW Jones. Meanwhile Akbank’s AI-powered Toggle provides retail investors with AI-driven, real-time insights for NYSE and Nasdaq stocks, offering both historical pattern-based predictions and deep technical/fundamental analysis. Another Akbank Mobile feature is Stock Loan whereby customers can use their existing stock holdings as collateral to enhance their investment position and benefit more efficiently from market opportunities.
