For the third consecutive year, in 2006 Raiffeisen banka was the largest bank in Serbia in terms of total assets, loans and deposits and also produced strong profit growth of 40% to reach €29.1m in net profits. With a 142% expansion in Tier 1 to €234.4m, mainly as a result of new regulatory measures, Raiffeisen was still able to produce a healthy 16.7% RoE, although less than the previous year’s.
The bank expanded dynamically in a number of areas with its market share in deposits rising by 4.2% from 14.8% to 19% in 2006. With a 36.2% growth in consumer clients to 404,573 in 2006, it also achieved strong loan growth and expanded its network. The Small and Micro Enterprises Division has enlarged its client base to more than 17,500, and the credit portfolio has surpassed €144m. In 2006, Raiffeisen opened 22 branch offices, bringing the total at year-end to 67.
Mortgage loans were also active: 32.5% of all insured mortgage loans with the National Corporation were realised through Raiffeisen banka.
In other areas, the bank strengthened its role in the foreign currency trading market, increasing its share of overall foreign currency trading to 21% and to 15.6% in the interbank trading market. It has also established two new service companies, Raiffeisen Future, related to pension funds, and Raiffeisen Invest, which manages investment funds.
“It is a great honour and yet another confirmation of our leading position in Serbia that Raiffeisen banka has received the Bank of the Year award for the fourth consecutive time,” says CEO Oliver Roegl. “Notwithstanding the intense competition and the very restrictive monetary environment, Raiffeisen banka continued its dynamic development in all target customer segments and remains one of the main driving forces of the local banking sector growth. Furthermore, the co-operation with other Raiffeisen International network banks in central and eastern Europe made it possible to react quickly to the needs of the local market, and offer innovative products and superior client service quality.”
