Raiffeisen Bank sees 2009 net profit halve on previous year

Raiffeisen Bank posted a RON 311 million net profit (EUR 74 million) last year, down 55 percent on 2008. The figure results from the 98 percent rise in the cost of provisions, to RON 373 million (EUR 88 million), compared with RON 165 million (EUR 45 million) in 2008. Its total assets reached EUR 4.69 billion, while credits granted made up EUR 2.58 billion, a fall of 3.5 percent on the same period of 2008. Customers’ deposits exceeded EUR 3.38 billion, a drop of 7.3 percent on 2008. Operational expenses fell by 7.4 percent to EUR 269 million, as a result of more cautious cost control and improved efficiency in some activities.

The lender also posted a decrease of about 18 percent in net incomes from interest and commission and its cost/income ratio grew to 60 percent from 54 percent in 2008. The prudent management of the liquidity balance, maintenance of a solid base of capital and the strict control of costs and risks were among its priorities. Raiffeisen’s credit/deposit ratio was 76 percent while the unperformed loans ratio stayed below the average of the banking market.

“The 2009 results are very good considering the turbulence on the financial market followed by the serious recession through which Romania has passed. We managed to improve some fundamental indicators also because of our balanced development in recent years. We didn’t need an increase in capital. We have a good portfolio, which has been less affected by the unperformed credits than the market average,” said Steven van Groningen, president of Raiffeisen Bank. The lender had a branch network of 559 at the end of 2009 compared with 553 at the end of 2008. Its number of employees dropped from 6,778 in 2008 to 6,138 at the end of last year, as a result of natural exits and retirements.

Anda Dragan

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