“I believe that it will be difficult to operate in Russia in the long term,” says Michael Höllerer, CEO of Raifeisen Bank International (RBI) for three months, leaving no doubt about the exit plans for Russia. And as quickly as possible. If he had the opportunity tomorrow, “I would get out tomorrow,” said Höllerer during his first media appearance on Monday at the Business Journalists’ Club. The bank has been considering exiting since the start of the Ukraine war.
The RBI is further reducing operations in Russia, which was once the banking group’s multi-billion dollar cash cow. 80 percent of the loans and 60 percent of the deposits have already been reduced. However, a complete exit would require numerous approvals, including from the Kremlin.
Höllerer does not currently see any danger of compulsory administration or even expropriation. Russia has recently placed some Western corporations under receivership, including Nestle and Metro. There are no signs or a statement from the authorities of compulsory administration, emphasized Höllerer. The bank adheres strictly to all regulations.
Stage win
There is a stage victory in the bitter dispute with the Russian Strabag shareholder Rasperia, KURIER reported. At the end of September, the Vienna Regional Court for Civil Law Matters awarded RBI and its Russian subsidiary AO Raiffeisen 3.15 billion euros in damages for the frozen package of 28.5 million shares in the construction group Strabag. Rasperia can still appeal the verdict.
The FMA, as the sanctioning authority, must apply for the release of the Strabag package, which also includes the dividends since 2021, then the shares could be exploited with the help of an investment bank. “We don’t want to keep any Strabag shares,” Höllerer made clear.
Höllerer once again rejected the allegations from short seller Grizzly Research. He had accused the bank of misconduct on the part of the Russian subsidiary and incorrectly calculated liquidity figures. On Monday, the RBI confirmed in a statement, based on an internal investigation, that the bank had acted in accordance with its compliance framework and sanctions guidelines at all times. Legal action against Grizzly is still being considered.
The RBI will present its revised strategy on Capital Markets Day in spring 2027. A big issue is strengthening profitability, which at 13 percent is behind the competitors. As well as the new technologies with regard to resilience and security, the competence for AI is currently being reestablished on the board.
Banking jobs
AI has a massive impact on banking jobs, said Höllerer, who is also the chairman of the local banks in the Chamber of Commerce. AI would change job profiles. The RBI wants to keep as many employees as possible, but with more skills. “Our goal is to take as many employees as possible with us on this journey.”
In principle, they are not averse to acquisitions, “but only if it fits strategically”. They want to grow organically and inorganically and strengthen their role as a house bank for companies and private customers.
Ukraine
The RBI wants to stay in Ukraine, “we see Ukraine as a long-term investment,” emphasized Höllerer. RBI is number four in Ukraine with around 5,000 employees, three million customers and five billion assets.
Höllerer considers the “future depot” (tax-free assessment by parents for their children) to be “a great signal, I say it can be implemented”. Many young people are interested in the capital market and stocks.
As banking chairman, Höllerer renewed his proposal to abolish the banking divisions in the state chambers “for the purpose of simplification. Their necessity cannot be explained.” According to Höllerer, it’s not a good idea to just save money on employees. Many of them have high qualifications.
What makes any structural chamber reform more difficult, however, is the fact that all organizational units are independent corporations under public law.