CaixaBank, S.A. (BME:CABK) said on October 21, 2021 it was considering selling its entire 9.92% stake in the Austrian lender Erste Group Bank AG. The stake has current a market value of around €1.65 billion ($1.92 billion), taking into account the Austrian lender's 429.8 million outstanding shares and October 21, 2021 closing price of 38.76 euros per share, according to data from Refinitiv. The lender said a potential full disposal of its stake in Erste based on the share price of September 30, 2021 would result in a non-material impact on its bottom line and would have positive effect of 15 basis points in its core tier-1 ratio.

The sale of its stake could take place in different steps as Caixabank owns a 5.42% unhedged stake in EBS, which it could sell to certain pre-identified buyers. Caixabank said that the divestment of Caixabank's entire stake in Erste Bank would ultimately depend on market conditions.