"We have a pretty robust M&A pipeline," Anas Abuzaakouk told Reuters. "We are looking at a number of deals, primarily in Germany, but a few in Austria... The total balance sheet size is roundabout 25 billion (euros)."

Unlike Austrian rivals Erste Group, Raiffeisen Bank International and UniCredit Bank Austria, BAWAG withdrew from central and eastern Europe to focus on Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Last year, Austria's fourth-biggest bank bought German regional lender Suedwestbank and Austrian credit card issuer PayLife and agreed to take over German building society bank Deutscher Ring Bausparkasse.

Abuzaakouk said in December that BAWAG was involved in four to five potential acquisitions in Germany.

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, editing by Louise Heavens)