• Consolidated profit rises by 16.7 per cent to 982 million euros
• Provisioning for impairment losses expanded to 780 million euros, up 119 per cent against 2007 level
• Increased efficiency improves cost/income ratio by 3.6 percentage points to 54.0 per cent
• Return on equity before taxes decreases by 3.7 percentage points to 22.0 per cent
• Earnings per share rise 10.2 per cent to 6.39 euros, proposed dividend: 0.93 euros per share
  Balance sheet total grows by 17.4 per cent to 85.4 billion euros
• Customer deposits increases by 9.3 per cent to 44.2 billion euros, loans and advances to customers rose by 18.5 per cent to 57.9 billion euros
• CIS region posts the highest regional contribution by delivering 40 per cent of the group’s profit before tax; Southeastern Europe: 33 per cent; Central Europe: 27 per cent
• Customer base grows by around1 million to 14.7 million
  Corporate Customers business division makes strong contribution to group’s profit before tax: 884 million euros (up 32 per cent)
• Retail Customers business division posts lower profits contribution (down 11 per cent to 435 million euros), due mainly to higher provisioning for impairment losses
  Consolidated profit for Q4/2008 stands at 120.5 million euros, down 44 per cent against the comparable period in 2007
• Focus on customer deposits and minimizing costs in 2009
  
  

All figures are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG, a member of the RZB Group headed by Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG, posted a record profit in 2008, despite the global financial crisis. The consolidated profit (after tax and minorities) rose by 16.7 per cent to 982 million euros (2007: 841 million euros). The group’s profit before tax amounted to 1,429 million euros (2007: 1,238 million euros). Earnings per share increased to 6.39 euros from 5.80 euros in 2007. A profit distribution for 2008 of 0.93 euros per share, as in the previous year, will be proposed by the Managing Board to the Annual General Meeting. If the shareholders accept, the total dividend payout will amount to 143.8 million euros.

"Despite a noticeably deteriorated macroeconomic environment, we once again managed to post record results in 2008, an accomplishment that underlines the sustainability of our business model," said Raiffeisen International’s CEO Herbert Stepic. "Although developments were generally favorable for us, in the past year we were quick to react to the cyclical downturn in the region." In addition to applying increasingly more stringent risk criteria, Raiffeisen International sharply curtailed foreign currency lending and instituted a group-wide halt to further branch expansion and to the hiring of new employees. Staff reductions became necessary in Ukraine; the group saw itself forced to take similar personnel measures in Hungary at the start of 2009. Moreover, there will be a staff reduction in Slovakia due to the optimization of processes. "The measures aimed at raising our efficiency and expanding our capabilities that we have already implemented and those we will introduce make us confident that we are in sufficiently fit shape to kick off the year 2009 and to weather the crisis," Stepic added.