RBI fills financial gap in CEE region

One of Austria's top three banks, Raiffeisen Bank International, announced on May 13 its intent to promote cooperation in loans, payments, cash management and trade finance with China Development Bank as part of efforts to meet the growing demand for financial services from China in areas covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.

"We have established a joint marketing platform within China, as a hub for both our Austrian and our global clients investing in China through our local partner banks in China," said Peter Lennkh, corporate banking board member of RBI. "With the Belt and Road Initiative, more outbound investment from Chinese corporate is foreseen."

As a top-three commercial and investment bank in Austria, founded in 1886, RBI has provided financial services for individuals and companies in 27 countries worldwide, 14 of which are located in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), he said.

The bank was listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange in 2005. Its total balance sheet reached 135 billion euros ($148 billion) in December 2016, according to its annual report.

RBI, which has almost reached full coverage of CEE, can provide intermediary banking services for Chinese enterprises expanding business in the area, said Lennkh.

It also supported CEE companies who have been acquired by Chinese investors or who wanted to invest in China, he said.

Banking products included account opening, card services, syndication, merger and acquisition, advisory, post-acquisition financing and multi-currency (mainly CEE-country currencies) inter-bank support.

RBI established a branch in Beijing in 1999 as the first and only bank in Austria with an established operational presence in China. In 2005, RBI Beijing became one of the first foreign banks to be approved to offer renminbi services, according to Lennkh.

A representative office was opened in Zhuhai of South China's Guangdong province in 2006.

RBI was named "Best Bank in Central and Eastern Europe" by "Global Finance" within the framework of "The World's Best Banks 2017" for the 11th time in the last 14 years.

In Serbia, the bank focuses on partnerships with its primary credit portfolio clients by providing services and ensuring prudent risk policy, he said.

The bank also enhanced cooperation with the local multinational segment to serve foreign investors in Serbia and governmental partners in infrastructure and agricultural projects, he added.

It has also developed cashless transactions for retail customers in Ukraine, he said.

Lennkh said the bank foresaw a good business opportunity back in the 1980s when banking services in CEE suffered from a lack of know-how and risk control, insufficient technical equipment and low standards for staff training.

"Nowadays, there is still good potential given the population of about 311 million inhabitants in CEE compared to around 336 million in the euro zone, which makes CEE too big to ignore - especially as the GDP growth figures of most CEE countries are significantly above the euro area's average," he said.

The bank entered CEE in 1987 through greenfield operations and later by acquisitions, he said

Since the founder, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, was a social reformer promoting self-help for farmers, RBI values corporate social responsibility as well.

The H. Stepic CEE Charity, founded by former CEO Herbert Stepic in 2006, focused on social and health projects managed by employees of RBI's head office in Vienna and network banks in CEE on a voluntary basis, said Lennkh.

Nine of RBI's subsidiary banks have an environmental and social management system and a corresponding environmental and social policy, which define the bank's principles for ecological and social risk management, he said.

Now the bank has 50,000 employees to serve more than 17 million customers worldwide.

Its advisory services and solutions included cash management services, asset-based financing or trade and export finance products, as well as tailor-made and cross-border banking solutions, said Lennkh.

Inter-bank business appeared active with major European banks including European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Fund and European Investment Bank, he said.

chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/14/2017 page37)