The gross revenues of Raiffeisen Bank, which stabilized in 2024, are expected to remain at a similar level in 2025, albeit with certain changes in structure, including a reduction in the share from treasury instruments, stated the Chairman of Raiffeisen Bank, Alexander Pisaruk, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
"The activation of lending will ensure an increase in interest income from corporate and retail segments, while the share of income from treasury instruments will continue to decline both in volume and yield," the banker noted.
Raiffeisen Bank's gross revenues for the first nine months of 2024 amounted to 15.4 billion UAH compared to 15.9 billion UAH for the same period in 2023.
Pisaruk attributed this result to macroeconomic stabilization, including the reduction of rates on government bonds, the NBU's discount rate, and decreased fluctuations in the exchange rate, as well as a certain liberalization of the currency market.
"Trading results decreased by 53% year-on-year, while commission income fell by 12%. The net interest margin also declined from 10.2% to 9.0% year-on-year, and further reductions are expected by the end of the year, which will affect the net interest result," he explained.
The net profit of Raiffeisen Bank for the third quarter of this year dropped to 1.84 billion UAH from 3.02 billion UAH in the third quarter of the previous year, although for the first nine months of 2024, the bank earned the same amount as in the first nine months of 2023 – 6.15 billion UAH.
"The bank maintains its position and is the third largest bank by profit. Profitability is also affected by costs. Operating expenses (OPEX) are up 20% year-on-year, mainly due to investments in the bank's personnel and IT. On the other hand, the bank has formed 80% fewer reserves year-on-year, or more than 2.3 billion UAH," Pisaruk commented on these results.
He also mentioned that this year the bank raised salaries by an average of 12%, covering over 90% of employees, which helped maintain competitiveness in the labor market. According to him, Raiffeisen actively collaborates with universities and has an average of over 400 employees under 25 years old, including interns, and supports veterans.
"Currently, we have 25 veterans employed, and we are ready to hire more. For older individuals and young parents, we launched a pilot program with flexible working conditions, allowing for part-time work," the Chairman added.
He also pointed out that reserving is a critical issue for all companies in the market, not just banks. "By law, we can reserve up to 50% of conscripted individuals, which is positive, but still insufficient to fully meet needs. For example, cash collection functions, where almost all employees are men, are experiencing a serious personnel shortage," Pisaruk indicated.
Speaking about other plans for the bank, he announced readiness to develop its leasing subsidiary after the war ends.
"Before the war, we had an agreement with the shareholder to activate the leasing company's operations. We were already preparing a business plan and getting ready to hire people. Then the war started. But I can definitely say that after the war, we plan to revive these development plans for the leasing business in Ukraine. I hope to return to this issue by 2025," noted the Chairman of Raiffeisen Bank.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1 of this year, Raiffeisen Bank ranked 4th in terms of total assets (229.12 billion UAH) among 62 operating banks in the country. The financial institution entered the top three leaders in net profit for the first nine months of this year, which amounted to 6 billion 151 million UAH, compared to 6 billion 135 million UAH for the same period last year.
Since October 2005, the bank has been part of the Austrian banking group RBI. Currently, the Raiffeisen group owns 68.21% of the bank's shares, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds 30%.