OREANDA-NEWS. December 30, 2010. Russia’s Raiffeisenbank has decided to reduce the debt load for customers with disabilities by reducing the penalty charges on them.

From 1 January 2011, the Bank will transfer to a system in which the penalty charges and late payment fees for disabled customers will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

"We will individually review all cases in which the debt burden on our customers with disabilities has led to the accrual of penalty charges and late payment fees. If there are objective reasons for the delay in the payment of the loan, we will cancel the fines. We pay special attention to people with disabilities and try to do everything possible to ensure that our customers feel as comfortable as possible," said Pavel Gurin, the Chairman of the Board of ZAO Raiffeisenbank.

The work of Raiffeisenbank is based on an understanding of corporate social responsibility towards society. Traditionally one of the main charitable focuses of the bank has been to help people with all types of disabilities.

ZAO Raiffeisenbank is a subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International AG. Raiffeisenbank ranks 9th among the Russian banks in terms of assets, based on Q3/2010 results (Interfax-CEA). According to the same Interfax-CEA data, ZAO Raiffeisenbank ranked 6th in terms of private deposits and 8th with regard to consumer lending.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG regards both Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. In CEE, RBI operates an extensive network of subsidiary banks, leasing companies and a range of other specialised financial service providers in 17 markets. More than 59,000 employees service about 15 million customers through around 3,000 business outlets, the great majority of which are located in CEE. RBI is the only Austrian bank with a presence in both the world’s financial centres and in Asia, the group’s further geographical area of focus. Raiffeisen Bank International is a fully-consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG (RZB). RZB indirectly owns around 78.5 per cent of the common stock, which is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange; the remainder is in free float. RZB is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country’s largest banking group, and serves as the group head office of the entire RZB Group, including RBI.