Bancherul - BANCI / ENGLISH / Raiffeisen welcomes multilateral financing package for Romania

Raiffeisen International Bank Holding-AG, part of the group headed by Raiffeisen Zentralbank �sterreich AG (RZB), welcomes the agreement jointly reached by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission (EC), the World Bank and other international institutions with Romanian authorities for a financing package of around 20 billion euros. It is considered a significant step to ensuring the stability of the country's economy and strengthening confidence in the broader CEE region.

"This agreement is an important contribution to the Romanian authorities' efforts to address the challenges the country faces as a result of the global economic crisis," said Herbert Stepic, CEO of Raiffeisen International and Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board of RZB. "Raiffeisen came to Romania in 1998 as a long-term strategic investor and this attitude prevails. Therefore we will continue to provide its Romanian subsidiary with sufficient liquidity and capital to achieve its goals. And this counts also for the other 14 subsidiary banks across the region," Stepic added.

Raiffeisen International was one of the nine organisations that signed an agreement with the IMF on Thursday. With this agreement the shareholders of the nine largest banks of the countries underlined their status as strategic investors and key contributors to Romania's transition toward an open, market-based economy. The organisations also confirmed their assessment of and continued confidence in the country�s long-term growth prospects as well as their continued commitment to doing business in the country.

In 2008, Raiffeisen International subsidiary Raiffeisen Bank S.A. ranked as the fourth-largest bank in Romania. Raiffeisen International's total assets in Romania amounted to 6.56 billion euros as of year-end 2008 (2007: 5.60 billion euros). Its profit after tax in 2008 came in at 161 million euros, an increase of 60 per cent year-on-year. At the end of 2008, Raiffeisen International's nearly 6,900 employees serviced more than 2 million customers through 557 business outlets located throughout Romania.