Bancherul - BANCI / ENGLISH / Raiffeisen Bank Romania ends 2012 with a profit after tax of EUR 88 million

Raiffeisen Bank Romania press release:

Raiffeisen Bank ends 2012 with a profit after tax of EUR 88 million

Raiffeisen Bank recorded a profit after tax of EUR 88 million in 2012 (EUR 96 million in 2011) • Total capital ratio of 13.5 per cent indicates healthy liquidity and strong capitalization • NPL ratio increased to 7.2 per cent compared to 6.4 per cent in 2011.

Bucharest, 6 March 2013 - Raiffeisen Bank S.A. recorded a profit after tax of EUR 88 million in 2012. The bank's total assets amounted to EUR 5.31 billion, a slight decrease of 4 per cent compared to EUR 5.52 billion at year-end 2011. Total loans remained stable at EUR 3.52 billion (compared to EUR 3.53 billion in 2011). On the whole, the bank was able to maintain its loan portfolio despite the restrictive market conditions. The loan/deposit ratio slightly increased to 92 per cent (89 per cent in 2011).

2012 marked an improvement in the bank’s efficiency (costs dropped by 8 per cent), through efforts invested in streamlining processes and activities, at the same time further improving customer care standards. Following the bank’s measures to increase efficiency and diversify its income sources, the cost/income ratio improved to 59 per cent after 63 per cent at year-end 2011.

“I am pleased that we ended another year with very good results, thereby proving the strength of our business model in an environment which has been difficult for many years. The market position of the bank, the permanent improvement of our efficiency and the continuous increase in the quality of our activities allowed us to maintain and diversify our income base in 2012. A strict control of costs and risks as well as further improvements in efficiency will remain our priorities in 2013. Apart of that, what we endeavor first is to create excellent experience for our customers in their interactions with us,”said Steven van Groningen, President and CEO of Raiffeisen Bank.

With the local economy failing to enter a sustainable growth trend, net provisioning for impairment losses increased to EUR 78 million (EUR 48 million in 2011). The NPL ratio also grew, reaching 7.2 per cent after 6.4 per cent in 2011. The coverage ratio improved by 2 percentage points to 75 per cent as a result of Raiffeisen Bank's prudent risk policy.

Last year, Raiffeisen Bank increased its customer base by 60,000, which reflects both the market trust and the success of its strategy focused on home banking. The bank reaches approximately 2 million individuals, 105,000 SMEs and 7,500 companies. At year-end 2012, Raiffeisen Bank’s network numbered 525 outlets (543 in 2011), over 1,100 ATMs and 11,000 EPOS.

As of 31 December 2012, the bank had 5,361 employees, against 5,911 a year earlier.

Raiffeisen Bank S.A. is a top universal bank that provides the complete range of superior quality products and services to individuals, SMEs and corporations. Vienna-based Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) owns 99,49 per cent of Raiffeisen Bank’s shares. It 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.

*All figures in this press release are audited and according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). They refer exclusively to Raiffeisen Bank S.A.’s results and may differ from those which will be announced by Raiffeisen Bank's parent company Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) on 10 April 2013.