Raiffeisen Romania suffers massive losses
Raiffeisen Internationals (RI) Romanian subsidiary suffered 75 per cent year on year losses in 2009, it has been announced.Online newspaper Romanian Times has reported today (Weds) that Raiffeisen Bank Romania had a net profit of 40 million Euros last year. The institute also reported losses of two million Euros in the last quarter of 2009.The bank said its 2009 results had been negatively affected by the effects of the global economic crisis.Austrian Raiffeisenzentralbank (RZB) entered the Romanian market via its Central and Eastern European business-making division RI in 1997.This news come one day after RZB and RI revealed plans to merge retroactive to 1 January 2010.RZB head Walter Rothensteiner rubbished reports the decision had been made because of financial constraints, while RI head Herbert Stepic said: “We are excellently positioned and a top brand.”A delegation of RZB and RI executives is in London today to inform shareholders and investors about details of the planned move.RZB is Austrias biggest private employer and a major player in the CEE region, where it is active in 17 countries through RI.After years of soaring profits, the bank has seen results plummet since the beginning of the economic crisis. RIs earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) dropped from 1.43 billion Euros in 2008 to 368 million Euros last year.