KBC Group is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing on private clients and small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It was created in 1998 through the merger of Kredietbank (KB), the cooperative CERA Bank, ABB Insurance, and Fidelitas Insurance. The acronym KBC refers to KredietBank and CERA.
UniCredit S.p.A. is an international banking group headquartered in Milan. It is Italy's only systemically important bank and the world's 34th largest by assets. It was formed through the merger of Credito Italiano and Unicredito in 1998 but has a corporate identity stretching back to its first foundation in 1870 as Banca di Genova. UniCredit is listed on the Borsa Italiana and Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is a constituent stock of the Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading shares.
Živnostenská banka was a major commercial bank operating in the Habsburg Monarchy, then Czechoslovakia until absorption into the State Bank of Czechoslovakia in 1950. It restarted activity in the late 1950s, was privatized in 1992, and after 1993 was one of the largest banks in the Czech Republic. In 2002 it was purchased by UniCredit, and in 2006 was renamed UniCredit Bank Czech Republic.
Československá obchodní banka, a.s. (ČSOB) is one of the largest commercial banks operating in the Czech Republic. It is a universal bank that offers a full range of banking services to individuals and companies. It operates 280 ČSOB branded branches, and 3,300 Česká pošta branches under the brand name Poštovní spořitelna.
Komerční banka (“KB”) is a major Czech bank and the parent company of KB Group, a member of the Société Générale international financial group. KB is a universal bank providing a wide range of services in retail, corporate and investment banking complemented by specialised financial services produced by KB’s subsidiaries or other SG Group companies. KB Group operates in the Czech Republic and also provides services to corporate clients in Slovakia. It serves more than 1.6 million customers in 399 branches.
ČEZ Group is a conglomerate of 96 companies, 72 of them in the Czech Republic. Its core business is the generation, distribution, trade in, and sales of electricity and heat, trade in and sales of natural gas, and coal extraction. ČEZ Group operates also in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey. ČEZ, a.s. is listed on Prague Stock Exchange and Warsaw Stock Exchange.
PPF Group is an international diversified investment group founded in 1991 in the Czech Republic. PPF Group invests in a variety of sectors, including banking and financial services, telecommunications, media, biotechnology, real estate and industry. The geographical reach of PPF Group spans Europe, North America and Asia. It is currently active in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Hungary, Switzerland, Ukraine, Turkey, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, China, France, United Kingdom and the United States.
Erste Group Bank AG is an Austrian financial service provider in Central and Eastern Europe serving 15.7 million clients in over 2,700 branches in seven countries.
Penta is a Central Europe investment group founded in 1994 in Slovakia by Czech Marek Dospiva and Slovaks Jaroslav Haščák, Juraj Herko, Martin Kúšik and Jozef Oravkin.
Ivan Pilip is a Czech politician and economist who was finance minister from June 1997 to July 1998, after having been the Minister of Education, Youth and Sport from 1994 to 1997.
Energetický a průmyslový holding, a.s. (EPH) is a Czech Republic (Prague) based company currently investing mainly in the energy sector in Europe, founded in 2009. The group's business lines covers the complete value chain ranging from highly efficient cogeneration, power generation, and natural gas transmission, gas storage, gas and electricity distribution and supply. The majority owner is Czech entrepreneur and lawyer Daniel Křetínský (94%), who is ranked among the richest Czechs in the long term and according to Forbes he became a dollar billionaire in 2017. The remaining 6% is distributed among selected managers of EPH. EPH employs almost 25.000 people and comprises over 50 companies.
Všeobecná úverová banka, a.s. is a retail and commercial bank domiciled in Slovakia with its registered office at Mlynske Nivy 1, Bratislava. The Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo is the majority shareholder of VUB, holding a 96.97% stake.
Sberbank Europe Group was a banking group headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and owned by Sberbank, a Russian state-controlled company. Sberbank Europe provided financial services to over 780,000 customers in eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It was liquidated in early March 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Daniel Křetínský is a Czech billionaire businessman and lawyer, who is the chief executive officer (CEO) and 94% owner of Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH), co-owner and president of football club AC Sparta Prague, and director and major shareholder of English football club West Ham United.
Pavel Tykač is a Czech entrepreneur and investor with long-term experience in the energy sector. At present, he is the sole owner of Sev.en Energy Group, a major player in the Czech energy market which is planning to expand to the European energy market. His wealth is estimated at US$1.03 billion, which according to Forbes magazine makes him the fifth richest person in the Czech Republic. Together with his wife, Pavel Tykač is significantly engaged in charity projects and support for the North Bohemian Region and the Pardubice Region.
CEFC China Energy was a Chinese conglomerate. The company was among the 10 largest private companies in China in 2014. In 2017, the company was listed as 222 on the Fortune Global 500. In March 2020, the company—along with its subsidiaries CEFC Shanghai International and CEFC Hainan International—was declared bankrupt. The company used a complex web of affiliated companies to facilitate fake deals, inflate trade figures, and obtain bank loans to fuel its aggressive expansion.
UniCredit Bank Slovakia was a Slovak bank, formed by the merger of HVB Bank Slovakia and UniBanka in 2007, both owned by Italy-based UniCredit Group. In 2013 it was absorbed by UniCredit Bank Czech Republic, forming UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Emma Capital is a Czech investment management company. The company currently has 3 private equity funds that own portfolios in consumer finance, gas distribution, lottery and gaming.
Max banka a.s. is a Czech bank founded in 1991. It was formerly known as InterBank, InterBanka, BAWAG Bank CZ, LBBW Bank CZ and Expobank CZ. As of September 2022, Max banka is owned by Banka CREDITAS, which is part of the CREDITAS Group.
