Raiffeisen welcomes IMF measures to support Serbia's economy

 

IMF's enhanced economic programme for Serbia helps strengthen economic outlook for the country and broader CEE region

Raiffeisen International Bank Holding-AG, part of the group headed by Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB), welcomes the agreement recently reached between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Serbian authorities. Raiffeisen International views the agreement -- which enhances the IMF's Stand-by Agreement for Serbia and envisages a loan of around 3 billion euros -- as an important contribution to bolstering the country's economy and strengthening confidence in the broader CEE region.

"The augmented Stand-by Agreement will help the Serbian authorities to address the difficulties the country is facing as a result of the global economic crisis," said Herbert Stepic, CEO of Raiffeisen International and Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board of RZB. "Raiffeisen took a long-term perspective when it entered the Serbian banking market in 2001. For this reason, we will continue to provide our subsidiary in Serbia with sufficient liquidity and capital to achieve its goals. This is also true for the other 14 subsidiary banks that Raiffeisen operates across the CEE region," Stepic added.

Raiffeisen International was one of 10 organisations active in Serbia that signed an agreement with the IMF on Friday. With this agreement, the shareholders of these 10 banks underlined their status as strategic investors and key contributors to Serbia's transition toward an open, market-based economy. The financial institutions also confirmed their assessment of and continued confidence in Serbia’s long-term growth prospects, as well as their continued commitment to doing business in the country.
 
In 2008, Raiffeisen International subsidiary Raiffeisen banka a.d. is the second-largest lending institution in Serbia. Raiffeisen International's total assets in Serbia amounted to 2.91 billion euros as of year-end 2008 (2007: 2.91 billion euros, too). Its profit after tax came in at 80 million euros in 2008, an increase of 31 per cent year-on-year. At the end of 2008, more than 2,200 Raiffeisen employees serviced over 590,000 customers through 103 business outlets located throughout Serbia.