OREANDA-NEWS. November 29, 2007. The Banker, a renowned magazine of the Financial Times Group, awarded Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB) the title "Bank of the Year" in Austria for the second consecutive time. The Network Banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine received the awards for their home markets. The awards were presented at a reception in London yesterday night.

"The awards prove once again that RZB holds a good strategic position. Not only has the RZB Group been consistently recording sustained earning power during the past couple of years, it also continues to grow clearly stronger than the market. It therefore further improved its market position both in Austria and Central and Eastern Europe," stated Walter Rothensteiner, RZB's Chairman of the Managing Board and Raiffeisen International's Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

The title "Bank of the Year", which is among the most prestigious ones in the financial industry, is awarded for different regions, countries and categories. The selection process takes into account qualitative criteria such as asset growth and profitability as well as the development and implementation of state-of-the-art technical infrastructure and future-oriented strategies.


Additional awards for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine

The magazine's awards for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine acknowledge the banks' performance in providing top-quality products and services to both retail and corporate customers.

"We appreciate the awards as recognition of our successful growth during the past year", added Herbert Stepic, Raiffeisen International's CEO. "These awards are a tremendous motivation for all of us to continue working towards our goal, namely to become the leading banking group in Central and Eastern Europe."

VAT Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Ukraine, received the award celebrating its 15th anniversary. The bank's balance-sheet total has increased by 38 per cent to ? 5,912 million at the end of the third quarter 2007.