OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2007. Johann Strobl, 47 years of age, will join the managing board of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB) on 1 October 2007. He will expand the current five-member board and will assume the newly created role of executive risk management officer. "In winning Johann Strobl, we have gained a manager whose experience and professional profile match RZB and our managing board optimally," says RZB CEO Walter Rothensteiner enthusiastically about his new fellow board member, reported the press-centre of RZB.

RZB has risen to join the ranks of the world's 100 largest banks this year both in terms of balance sheet total and equity capital. "It was the right time to add an additional member to our managing board who will focus the majority of his attention on risk," said Rothensteiner. "Johann Strobl is one of the most renowned risk managers in Europe. He was also the ideal candidate because we wanted a manager who not only knows the Austrian market, but also the markets of Central and Eastern Europe."

In his 25 years in the banking sector, Johann Strobl has gained extensive experience in managing bank risk. After leaving the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration with a degree in business administration, he began his professional career at institute for the credit service sector of the Vienna University. He then switched to the treasury department of former Creditanstalt in 1989. He was soon given management responsibility: among other positions, he was head of Market Risk Management, director of Group Risk Management, head of Group Treasury and Financial Markets and then division head as Chief Market Risk Officer and Head of Risk Control. At the beginning of 2004, Johann Strobl joined the management board of Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG as Chief Risk Officer, and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2006.

Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB) is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country's largest banking group. It is a leading corporate and investment bank in Austria and also considers Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. RZB is the only Austrian bank with a global network of business units reaching all important finance centres around the globe. It is also present in Asia via its branches and representative offices.

Via listed subsidiary Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG, RZB operates one of the largest banking networks in CEE. 18 markets are covered by subsidiary banks, finance leasing companies, two representative offices and a number of financial services providers. Approximately 12.7 million customers are attended to through more than 2,950 business outlets.