OREANDA-NEWS. July 12, 2011. Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) was awarded the prestigious title "Best Bank in CEE & CIS" by EMEA Finance magazine during yesterday’s “Europe Banking Awards 2010”-event in Vienna's Schoenbrunn Castle. Furthermore, RBI was recognised as “Best Bank in Austria” and its subsidiary Raiffeisen Bank dd Bosna i Hercegovina as “Best Bank in Bosnia”. RBI's network banks in Albania, Belarus, Romania and Russia each received the title “Best Foreign Bank”.

"The title 'Best Bank in CEE & CIS' underlines once more our excellent position in Europe's most important growth region. It is also recognition of the efforts we took to strengthen our group for the challenges after the global economic crisis by means of our internal merger,” said RBI-CEO Herbert Stepic.

In Austria, RBI is a leading corporate and investment bank for the top-1,000 corporate customers. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), it acts as universal bank with an extensive network of subsidiary banks, leasing companies and a range of other specialised financial service providers in 17 markets.

"We consider ourselves a relationship bank for our customers offering tailor-made products and financial solutions. This award validates our customer approach," explained Karl Sevelda, Deputy CEO of RBI and responsible for the corporate business.

EMEA Finance is a bimonthly publication that reports on the major financial events and happenings initiated and influenced by the international financial industry active in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (the EMEA region). The magazine, which is headquartered in London, has a readership of more than 25,000. The EMEA Finance website (www.emeafinance.com) and weekly eNews reach over 100,000 EMEA-based professionals.

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Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) 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.

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.

In total, around 60,000 employees service about 14 million customers through around 3,000 business outlets, the great majority of which are located in CEE.

RBI is a fully-consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB). RZB indirectly owns around 78.5 per cent of the common stock, the remainder is in free float. RBI's shares are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. RZB is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country's largest banking group, and serves as the head office of the entire RZB Group, including RBI.