OREANDA-NEWS. September 01, 2008.
Dynamic growth in the balance sheet total: +15.8 percent

Profit before tax rises 3.9 per cent to EUR 897 million.

Profit after tax and minority interests down 12.8 per cent to EUR 393 million

Key indicators: ROE 21.0 per cent, ROA 1.18 per cent, Cost/Income Ratio 54.9 per cent,

Risk/Earnings Ratio 11.5 per cent

Market share in Austria increases 1 percentage point to 16.3 per cent

Vigorous growth in Central and Eastern Europe, reported the press-centre of RZB.

The Group of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB) moved forward with its growth strategy in the first half of 2008. Despite difficult conditions for banks, RZB improved its market position in its domestic markets of Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

The balance sheet total increased by 15.8 per cent, rising to 159.2 billion euros, and the half-year profit before tax rose 3.9 per cent to 878.5 million euros. During the first half of the year, RZB boosted its market share in Austria from 15.3 per cent (end-2007) to 16.3 per cent, measured in terms of the aggregate balance sheet total for the banking sector.

A leading bank in Central and Eastern Europe
RZB is one of the leading banks in the CEE region. At the end of the first half, it had a presence in 17 markets in the region via banking and leasing subsidiaries and numerous specialist companies. Business in the CEE region is conducted mainly via the Network banks, which operate under the umbrella of the listed Raiffeisen International subgroup. On the reporting date, Raiffeisen Zentralbank held a stake of approximately 69 per cent in Raiffeisen International.

Raiffeisen International continued to grow strongly during the first half of 2008, when its balance sheet total increased by 8 billion euros or 10.9 per cent to 80.7 billion euros. At the same time, it posted another record result. Its first-half Profit before tax came to 842.7 million euros, which was 38.9 per cent up on the same period of 2007.

(RZB's results in its Central Europe, Southeastern Europe and CIS geographical reporting segments do not exactly mirror Raiffeisen International's profit because, above all, of Raiffeisen Zentralbank's funding and management costs and the business conducted by other Group-members in the CEE region.)