The FINANCIAL — In the first quarter of 2017 Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) generated a consolidated profit of € 220 million.
“We are very satisfied with the start into the financial year 2017. We see a very positive economic development in almost all our markets and want to make use of this development for selective growth,” said Johann Strobl, CEO of RBI.
In the first three months of 2017, net interest income increased 5 per cent, or € 35 million, to € 796 million. This was mainly attributable to a € 31 million currency-related increase in net interest income in Russia.
“Net interest income is very important for a relationship bank like RBI. I am therefore very pleased that our net interest margin further stabilized during the first quarter,” said Strobl.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, general administrative expenses rose € 34 million to € 815 million, mainly due to currency effects. The cost/income ratio improved 2.6 percentage points to 62.8 per cent, notably due to higher operating income, according to Raiffeisen Bank.
Total capital ratio (fully loaded) of 16.8 per cent Based on total risk, the common equity tier 1 ratio (transitional) was 12.4 per cent while the total capital ratio (transitional) was 17.0 per cent.
Excluding the transitional provisions as defined in the CRR, the common equity tier 1 ratio (fully loaded) stood at 12.2 per cent, and the total capital ratio (fully loaded) was 16.8 per cent.
Taking account of net income for the first quarter of 2017, the capital ratios would be 0.4 percentage points higher in each case.
Net provisioning for impairment losses down 24 per cent
Net provisioning for impairment losses fell 24 per cent overall year-on-year, or € 25 million, to € 80 million.
The NPL ratio improved 0.3 percentage points to 8.3 per cent compared to year-end 2016.
Non-performing loans compared to loan loss provisions amounting to € 5,042 million, resulting
in an NPL coverage ratio of 74.0 per cent, compared to 75.2 per cent at the year-end.
“The development of our risk costs continues to be very pleasing. However, one has to consider that for seasonal reasons risk costs are always comparatively low in the first quarter,” explained Strobl.
Comparison of results with the previous quarter
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, net interest income fell 7 per cent, or € 61 million, to € 796 million in the first quarter of 2017.
In the first quarter of 2017, general administrative expenses were € 815 million, down 4 per cent, or € 33 million, on the previous quarter.
Compared to the previous quarter, net provisioning for impairment losses declined € 177 million to € 80 million.
In the first quarter of 2017, consolidated profit amounted to € 220 million, which is an increase of € 134 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2016.
Outlook
RBI targets a CET1 ratio (fully loaded) of around 13 per cent in the medium term.
After stabilizing loan volumes, RBI looks to resume growth with an average yearly percentage increase in the low single digit area.
RBI expects net provisioning for impairment losses for 2017 to be below the level of 2016 (€ 758 million).
The bank expects an NPL ratio of around 8 per cent by the end of 2017, and over the medium term RBI expects this to reduce further.
RBI further aims to achieve a cost/income ratio of between 50 and 55 per cent in the medium term, unchanged from our previous target.
The RBI´s medium term return on equity before tax target is unchanged at approximately 14 per cent, with a consolidated return on equity target of approximately 11 per cent.
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