BERLIN, June 15 (Reuters) - Austria's biggest bank Erste Group announced Willibald Cernko as its new chief executive on Wednesday, a month after reporting its current CEO would not renew his contract due to differing views on long-term strategy.

Cernko, who has worked for Erste Group since 2016 most recently as Chief Corporate Officer of Erste Bank Austria, will take over the helm of the bank on July 1. He will also take on the role of Chief Retail Officer of the group, the statement said.

His current contract runs to the end of 2024.

Cernko will take over from Bernd Spalt, who Erste announced in May would not renew his contract, which runs until June 30, 2023, due to "differing opinions on the future, long-term strategic orientation of the group".

Spalt took over from Europe's longest-serving bank chief executive Andreas Treichl in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 crisis shook markets worldwide.

At a recent annual shareholders meeting, Spalt said he and the board had different ideas of how the bank should transform its strategy in coming years. Spalt advocated a slower approach involving closer cooperation with the Group's daughter banks while the board wanted larger, faster investment decisions. (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich Editing by Madeline Chambers)