• Profit before tax of € 1,032 million
• Net provisioning for impairment losses declined slightly to € 1,009 million
• Significantly strengthened core tier 1 ratio of 10.7 per cent

The preliminary, unaudited results of Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) for the fiscal year 2012 once again bear witness to the sustainability of the diversified business model especially in difficult times. With net interest income lower by around 5 per cent and stable net fee and commission income, RBI generated a pre-tax profit for the year of € 1,032 million, which was around 25 per cent below the comparative value in 2011. The consolidated profit (after minorities) was € 725 million, also approximately 25 per cent below the value for the year 2011.

"Despite challenging conditions – alongside the muted macroeconomic environment, our focus lay on achieving the capital ratio set by the European Banking Authority – we have achieved a very respectable result. We have attained two important objectives: the clear increase in the core tier 1 ratio and the stabilisation of our costs, excluding Polbank. While net provisioning for impairment losses for the full year was within expectations, the fact that this position rose significantly in the final quarter is one of the less pleasing developments of the past year. A positive factor in the fourth quarter was the improved net interest margin," said Herbert Stepic, CEO of RBI.

The fiscal year 2012 was marked by a number of one-off effects. In the first quarter, pre-tax earnings of € 159 million from sales of the Group head office securities portfolio were realized. In addition, a profit before tax of € 113 million was earned on the buyback of hybrid bonds (hybrid tier 1 capital). In the fourth quarter, however, a number of one-off effects amounting to € 85 million left a negative mark. Among other factors, net trading income made no profit contribution because of IFRS guidelines relating to credit valuation adjustments on derivatives (around minus € 30 million). Furthermore, the remaining goodwill balance relating to Ukrainian Raiffeisen Bank Aval (€ 29 million) and goodwill relating to certain other participations (a total of € 10 million) was written off.

At € 1,009 million, net provisioning for impairment losses was about 5 per cent below the figure for the year 2011 (€ 1,064 million). The NPL ratio at the end of 2012 was 9.8 per cent and thus 1.2 percentage points above the value at the end of 2011, but was 0.2 percentage points below the figure at the end of the third quarter of 2012.

The volume of customer loans grew by 2.2 per cent to € 83.3 billion. Customer deposits fell by 0.7 per cent to € 66.3 billion. The balance sheet total fell by around 7.4 per cent to € 136.1 billion, primarily due to active measures to reduce excess liquidity.

The core tier 1 ratio, total, was significantly strengthened in 2012 and amounted to 10.7 per cent at year-end (year-end 2011: 9.0 per cent). This figure includes profits for 2012 and is net of the dividend on participation capital as well as the proposed dividend on ordinary shares.

For the 2012 financial year, the Management Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting the distribution of a dividend of € 1.17 per share (€ 1.05 in 2011).

On 10 April 2013, RBI will publish the Annual Report for 2012 as well as further details on the fiscal year 2012.

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Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards both Austria, where it is a leading commercial and investment bank, as well as 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. RBI is the only Austrian bank with a presence in both the world’s financial centres and in Asia, the group's additional geographical area of focus.

In total, around 61,000 employees service about 14.1 million customers through around 3,100 business outlets, the great majority of which are located in CEE. RBI is a fully-consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB). RZB indirectly owns around 78.5 per cent of the common stock; the remainder is in free float. RBI’s shares are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. RZB is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country’s largest banking group, and serves as the head office of the entire RZB Group, including RBI.

For further information, please contact:
Ingrid Krenn-Ditz (+43-1-71 707-6055, ingrid.krenn-ditz@rbinternational.com) or
Michael Palzer (+43-1-71 707-2828, michael.palzer@rbinternational.com).
http://www.rbinternational.com, http://www.rzb.at