Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) reported a one percent increase in its Group result to 664 million euros in the first quarter of 2024, reaching 664 million euros. However, without contributions from Russia and Belarus, the consolidated result was 333 million euros, as announced on Thursday by RBI boss Johann Strobl.
Risk costs decreased by more than 90 percent compared to the same period last year, which was seen as a positive development by RBI’s CEO. Higher interest income in Central and Southeastern Europe contributed significantly to this growth. Slovakia saw the largest increase of 25 million euros, mainly due to higher interest rate-related income from customer loans and deposits at the National Bank. On the other hand, net commission income fell by 297 million euros to 669 million euros, with Russia experiencing the largest decline of 287 million euros.
Impairment losses on financial assets in the first quarter amounted to only 25 million euros, significantly lower than the previous year’s value of 301 million euros. The majority of net impairment losses of 92 million euros were recognized for defaulted loans (Stage 3), with the largest positions attributed to non-financial companies and households.
Looking ahead to the full year, RBI expects Russia and Belarus to be excluded from its operations due to requests from the ECB. The bank anticipates net interest income to reach around 4 billion euros in 2024 and net commission income around 1.8 billion euros. Customer receivables are expected to grow by between three and four percent, with administrative expenses forecasted at around €3.3 billion, leading to a cost/income ratio of around fifty-two percent. The group return on equity is expected to be about ten percent while common equity Tier I capital ratio at end of year is estimated will be approximately fourteen point six percent assuming deconsolidation price Russian unit at zero point zero price-to-book ratio.
The final dividend decision will depend on RBI’s capital position after excluding Russia from its operations
