In Q1 2024, the Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) reported that its Group result increased by 1% to €664 million. The consolidated result, excluding contributions from Russia and Belarus, was €333 million. RBI also announced that risk costs fell by more than 90% compared to the same period last year. CEO Johann Strobl stated that the earnings development was in line with expectations and that the decline in risk costs was encouraging.
The bank’s net interest income increased by 70 million euros to €1.45 billion euros, driven by higher interest income in Central and Southeastern Europe. The largest increase in net interest income was recorded in Slovakia, with 25 million euros mainly coming from higher interest rate-related income from customer loans and deposits at the National Bank. However, net commission income fell by 297 million euros to €669 million euros, with Russia experiencing the largest decline.
Impairment losses on financial assets in Q1 totaled €25 million, significantly lower than the previous year’s figure of €301 million euros. Net impairment losses of €92 million were recognized for defaulted loans, with the largest positions being for non-financial companies and households. Looking ahead to the full year, RBI expects net interest income to be around €4 billion and net commission income to be around €1.8 billion. Customer receivables are expected to grow by 3 to 4 percent, with administrative expenses estimated at €3.3 billion leading to a cost/income ratio of around 52 percent.
The group return on equity is expected to be around 10% in 2024, with a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of around 14.6% at the end of the year assuming deconsolidation of Russian unit at zero price-to-book ratio value. The dividend decision will depend on group’s capital position excluding Russia