The Austrian banking group Erste Group intends to expand its private equity offering by making it a subsidiary of its asset management branch.

The Viennese company, which has total assets of 271 billion euros, has chosen to transfer its private equity operations to the new Erste Private Capital unit. This will be part of the larger division of asset management.

Erste said private stocks are becoming increasingly important as a diversification and for generating returns for investors in Austria and Central Europe. By placing it under the control of the asset management branch, it hopes to accelerate its growth.

Ralf Kunzmann has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Erste Private Capital and comes from the aws-Gründerfonds venture capital group. Kunzmann, who joined on October 1, will work alongside Werner Edlinger and Thomas Bobek to lead the new group.

Heinz Bednar, CEO of Erste Asset Management, said: “Together with Erste Group Bank, we have a deep understanding of the needs of entrepreneurs in our region, as well as our investors. We are one of the main asset managers in the region and want to expand our offering in this growing market with the new private equity entity. ‘

Kunzmann was Managing Director at aws Fondsmanagement and aws Gründerfonds and previously worked in private equity for many years. Prior to joining aws in 2013, he was responsible for the international private equity activities of the UniCredit Bank Austria group and was managing director and chief financial officer of various portfolio companies.