Raiffeisen Says Hungary Unit Lacks Share Holder Value
- 21 Jan 2015 8:00 AM
Raiffeisen Bank International cannot ignore a lack of profits at its Hungarian operation indefinitely, the Austrian group’s head of corporate business said. The remarks by Peter Lennkh at a Euromoney conference in Vienna came as Raiffeisen reviews its portfolio, potentially resulting in a withdrawal from one or more foreign markets this year.
“It is a great business. It does everything right, but for the moment it doesn’t come through with shareholder value and this cannot be ignored for ever,” Lennkh told a panel discussion on the outlook for the sector in central and eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, László Wolf, deputy chief executive of OTP Bank, the largest lender in Hungary, told the conference he thought the worst of the cost burden from Hungarian government policies was now over.
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) booked a 301 million euro loss at its business in Hungary in Q1-Q3 last year, mainly because of a provision made for compensation it must pay retail clients under borrowers’ relief legislation approved last summer, the latest earnings report of the group published at the end of last November showed.
“The market environment in Hungary continues to be difficult and is currently under closer observation,” RBI said in the report.
Source www.hungarymatters.hu
Follow that link to sign-up for MTI’s twice-daily newsletter.
LATEST NEWS IN business