Erste Securities Polska Effects of the financial crisis In October 2011 it said it expected a full year loss of up to EUR 1.1 billion, after making writedowns and provisions of EUR 1.6 billion. This would be its first loss since at least 1988. It said the writedowns were due to government intervention in Hungary, where it is forced to take losses on Swiss franc mortgages, and a slower than expected recovery in Romania. It will also delay a plan to repay some of the state aid received in 2009. In August 2013, Erste Group Bank AG was the first Austrian bank to fully repay the participation capital of EUR 1.76 billion issued in 2009 which consisted of EUR 1.22 billion from the Republic of Austria and EUR 540 million from private investors. From 2009 to 2012, the Republic of Austria received annual dividend payments from Erste Group of EUR 98 million and private investors of EUR 43 million. Including the pro rata dividend for 2013 which paid in June 2014 after the corresponding resolution is passed by the annual shareholders' meeting, the Republic of Austria received EUR 448 million and private investors EUR 198 million in dividends. During the 2014 stress test (finance) of the European Banking Authority (EBA), Erste Group Bank AG's equity ratio reached 11.2% under the normal scenario and 7.6% under the negative scenario, so that Erste Group passed the stress test as expected. As of year end 2015, Erste Group achieved a net profit of EUR 968.2 million, 4.2% lending growth and a CET 1 ratio of 12.3%. Online Banking George In January 2015, Erste introduced its digital banking platform "George" in Austria. George was launched in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic in 2017, in Romania in 2018, in Croatia in 2020 and in Hungary in 2021. According to Erste Group, there were approximately 4 million George users in the first four markets by the end of 2018, and more than 5 million in 2021. Headquarters Erste Campus In the spring of 2016, 4.500 employees of Erste Group, of Erste Bank Oesterreich and their subsidiaries in Vienna moved to their new headquarters "Erste Campus". The cornerstone had been laid on 26 June 2012. The headquarter is located on the area of the former Südbahnhof and is the first building complex of "Quartier Belvedere" to be completed. Once it is finished, the new district will