As indicated earlier, the four for one Erste Bank stock split will come into effect on the Vienna and Prague Stock Exchanges on July 8, 2004. On that date, each shareholder will receive an additional 3 shares for each share held, ADR holders will receive an additional 6 ADRs for each 2 held. The stock split will be automatically processed for all investors whose shares are held in custody. After the completion of the split, the bank will have 241,442,892 shares, each representing EUR 2.00 of the capital stock of the bank.
Separately, Fitch raised Ceska sporitelna's (Erste owns 98%) individual rating to C from C/D yesterday; the rating outlook remains stable (A-/F2). The upgrade reflects CS's cleared loan book, strong support from the parent bank and solid sales growth.
Jan Hájek