Local lender Raiffeisen Bank, part of Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), posted a net profit of EUR 98 million last year, down by 13% compared to 2014.

The bank’s assets rose last year by 8% to EUR 6.95 billion, as the bank said that it granted new loans of over EUR 2 billion in 2015. Compared to the previous year, the net loans rose by 5% on an organic base.

The bank reported a total loan growth of 12%, which was influenced by a deal concluded with a company that is part of the RBI group. This consisted in the takeover of a loan portfolio of about EUR 240 million.

Customer deposits followed a constant growth trend in 2015, increasing by 12% compared to the previous year, although market interest rates stayed low. The loans to deposits ratio stood at 81%, similar to 2014.

“We are satisfied with our 2015 results and remain focused on building long-term relationships with our customers. This means that we will continue to put in efforts towards improving interactions with the bank regarding simplification, transparency of costs and transactions’ rapidity,” said Steven van Groningen, President and CEO of Raiffeisen Bank.

“We will also try to get better at what we do, and I am confident that we will succeed, as before, in growing profitably in the years to come. Legislative changes we are currently facing remain an issue, and they may impact significantly our activity and results for 2016,” he added.

In 2015, Raiffeisen Bank managed to partially compensate the impact of low market interest rates on income due to increased lending and other banking operations, which kept the income decrease at only 1%, to EUR 449 million.

Net provisioning for impairment losses decreased to EUR 65 million compared to 2014, when the item stood at EUR 71 million.

Raiffeisen Bank services approximately 2 million individuals, 100,000 SMEs, and 8,200 medium and large companies. The bank’s network has more than 500 outlets and 1,100 ATMs, approximately 14,000 EPOS and 40 MFMs (multifunctional machines, self-banking).

The bank had 5,349 employees at year-end, compared to 5,409 in December 2014.

Raiffeisen Bank Romania increases profit and assets in 2014

editor@romania-insider.com