Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d. issued the following announcement on Aug. 9.

The new accounting standard for financial instruments (IFRS 9) has been in effect since January 1, 2018. In addition to IFRS 9 adoption, the RBI has also revised its balance sheet, which is now in line with the Financial Reporting Standards (FINREP) issued by the European Supervisory Authority the Banking Authority (EBA). After the adoption of the standard it was necessary to adjust the data for the comparable period and the date of the comparable report.

In the first half of 2018, Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) achieved consolidated profit of EUR 756 million.

"We are very happy with our half-year results, especially as the expected loss of Raiffeisen Bank Polska's sales is already included in the second trimester data," said Johanna Strobla, RBI's Chairman of the Board. "RBI is on a sustainable path of growth."

Operating income increased by 5 percent or EUR 119 million year-on-year, amounting to EUR 2,669 million. Net interest income increased by 4 percent to EUR 1,663 million thanks to an increase in the net interest margin of 5 basis points to 2.48 percent.

In general operating costs, a slight decrease of EUR 9 million was recorded on an annual basis, amounting to EUR 1,494 million. The share of expenses in revenue fell by 2.9 percentage points to 56.0 percent.

Net release of 83 million euros
In the reporting period, net write-offs of impairment losses of financial assets amounted to 83 million euros, while in the same period last year this item amounted to 100 million euros. This positive trend was influenced by a good macroeconomic environment in terms of inflows and successful collection in the total amount of EUR 361 million.

Therefore, in 2018, the ratio of non-performing loans continued to decrease, which by the beginning of the year fell by an additional 0.9 percentage points, and at the end of June was 4.8 percent. The coverage ratio of non-performing loans increased by another 6.5 percentage points to 73.5 percent.

Outlook

"We are predicting a continuation of the positive trend of risk costs in the second half and we have also adapted our prospects," Strobl said.

The RBI will stimulate growth of loans with an average annual percentage increase over average single-digit rates.

Impairment losses on financial assets (risk costs) in 2018 are expected to fall below the level recorded in 2017.

The RBI predicts that the share of non-performing loans in the medium term will further decrease.

The Bank has as its target set the share of expenses in revenues below 55 percent in the medium term.

In the following years, RBI's goal is to achieve a consolidated return on equity of approximately 11 percent.

Based on this, the purpose of the intent is to distribute between 20 and 50 percent (the dividend ratio) of its consolidated profits.

The sale of core banking business in Poland is not included in the target values in these prospects.

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The online version of the semi-annual report can be accessed through the site: http://qr022018.rbinternational.com.

The German version is available at http://zb022018.rbinternational.com.

You can also order printed versions on the same web page.

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RBI's parent market to Austria, which is the leading corporate and investment banking institution, is also considered to be Central and Eastern Europe (SIE). The daughter banks cover 14 markets in the region. In addition, the RBI Group also embraces numerous providers of other financial services, such as leasing, asset management, and mergers and acquisitions (M & A).

Overall, services for 16.7 million customers provide over 50,000 employees through more than 2,400 branch offices, most of which are in the CEE region. The RBI shares were listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Austrian regional Raiffeisen banks own 58.8 percent of the shares, while the rest are distributed to the public. As part of the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen, RBI serves as the central institution of regional Raiffeisen banks and other affiliated credit institutions and provides important services in that role.

For more information please feel free to contact:

Ingrid Krenn-Ditz (+ 43-1-71 707-6055, ingrid.krenn-ditz@rbinternational.com) or
Christofu Danzu (+ 43-1707-1930, christof.danz@rbinternational.com)

http://www.rbinternational.com

Original source can be found here.