Research Update: Raiffeisen Bank International Affirmed At 'A-'; Outlook Remains Negative On Elevated Risks With Russian Operations

Raiffeisen Banking Group (RBG) and its core subsidiary Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) reported strong financial results for fiscal year 2023, despite economic pressures in its core markets and the outsized risk with its Russian subsidiary. The group's financial resilience continued well into 2024 as demonstrated with its first quarter results, but increased scrutiny of international authorities and regulators regarding its operations in Russia and Belarus highlight the importance of run-down efforts in those countries, in our view. In our base case we expect that RBI will succeed with its goal to substantially exit its business in Russia and Belarus and mitigate associated risks. We therefore affirmed our 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term issuer credit ratings on the bank. The negative

...- Raiffeisen Banking Group (RBG) and its core subsidiary Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) reported strong financial results for fiscal year 2023, despite economic pressures in its core markets and the outsized risk with its Russian subsidiary. - The group's financial resilience continued well into 2024 as demonstrated with its first quarter results, but increased scrutiny of international authorities and regulators regarding its operations in Russia and Belarus highlight the importance of run-down efforts in those countries, in our view. - In our base case we expect that RBI will succeed with its goal to substantially exit its business in Russia and Belarus and mitigate associated risks. - We therefore affirmed our 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term issuer credit ratings on the bank. - The negative outlook reflects our view of ongoing downside risks to this base case....

Research Update