Erste Bank Serbia is one of the oldest financial institutions in the country, established in 1864 as the first savings bank (Novosadska Štedionica). Today the bank has a network of 69 branches and 4 corporate centers for SME clients. In 2005 Novosadska Banka became a member of Erste Group, which was founded in 1819 as the first Austrian savings bank. Since 1997, Erste Group has developed into one of the largest financial services providers in the eastern part of EU, with approximately 46,000 employees serving around 16.5 million clients in around 2,900 branches in 7 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia).