BANKING
RAIFFEISEN BANK AND RBI REPORT GOOD 2017 RESULTS Raiffeisen Bank said its assets went up eight percent last year, to 36.1 billion lei, on the back of higher customer loans, whose net value gained eight percent, from 19.8 billion lei at the end of 2016 to 21.4 billion in 2017. The bank’s financial performance continues to be positive, its net profit advancing nine percent to 491 million lei at the end of last year. Its return on equity stood at 15.8 percent, based on a sustainable model of organic growth, the bank said.
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“Our responsible and balanced development strategy is reflected in the growth of loans granted to customers: the volume of loans dis-
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STEVEN VAN GRONINGEN, PRESIDENT & CEO, RAIFFEISEN BANK
bursed to retail customers went up nine percent, loan volumes for SMEs gained 11 percent, while medium-sized and large companies saw a ten percent increase. We are very pleased with the progress of new loans in 2017, as they increased by 19 percent from the year before, to reach 13.6 billion lei. Nearly 60 percent of our total loans were granted to local entrepreneurs and large companies, representing a 21 percent increase from the previous year,” said Steven van Groningen, President and CEO, Raiffeisen Bank. The structure of the bank’s loan portfolio remained stable in 2017, with 57 percent of its loans being granted to individual customers and 43 percent to corporate customers. “We have a diverse range of financing sources that will allow us to continue to finance the economy responsibly and sustainably. Our capitalization level is also a sound one, with a solvency ratio of 15.9 percent in December 2017,” added Steven van Groningen. The bank’s revenues amounted to 2,044 million lei last year, slightly up from the year before, when revenues stood at 2,034 million lei (excluding the 95 million lei from the VISA transaction). Net revenues from interests went up four percent from the year before, slightly below the growth rate of its loan portfolio. The bank’s operating expenses advanced seven percent in 2017, to 1,208 million lei.