Austrian financial group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), despite remarks by RBI CEO Karl Sevelda, is looking for a buyer for its Russian subsidiary, Raiffeisenbank. An executive at a Top 30 Russian bank told Banki.ru that the Austrian group is in talks over the sale of Raiffeisenbank.
Two sources on the banking market said that the potential buyer of RBI's Russian subsidiary could be Alfa-Bank, which ranks sixth by assets among Russian lending institutions (as of December 1, 2014).
A Banki.ru interviewee close to Alfa-Bank and Raiffeisenbank said that first negotiations over Alfa-Bank's acquisition of RBI's Russian subsidiary were held in the fall of 2014. "The parties wanted to execute the deal until 2015, but were late for some reasons," said the portal's source, adding the talks are in the final stage.
Another source familiar with the course of the negotiations said that Raiffeisenbank's acquisition is intended to be wrapped up in January — March 2015. As of December 1, 2014 Raiffeisenbank ranked twelfth among the largest Russian banks by assets.
When asked by Banki.ru, Raiffeisen Bank International's press service reiterated what Karl Sevelda said on the sidelines of the Euromoney Forum on January 20 (the group does not plan to divest Russian assets).
Alfa-Bank declined to comment. At present, the lending institution is nearly 100% controlled by AB Holding (99.89%), Alfa-Group owned ABH Financial Limited (Cyprus), and Alfa Capital Holdings (Cyprus) Limited (0.11%). Russia-based Alfa-Bank constitutes a core of banking group Alfa-Bank and comprises 711 customer service and sales offices in Russia and abroad. In addition, the bank owns around 4,000 ATMs.
Raiffeisenbank operates seven branches in Russia, 211 additional offices and five operating cash desks. The lending institution also operates over 1,900 ATMs.
As of December 1, 2014 Raiffeisenbank's assets stood at Rub 906 bln, up 27.2% YTD. In November alone the bank's assets climbed 11% m-o-m due to the revaluation of currency items. As of December 1, 2014 Raiffeisenbank's currency-denominated assets accounted for 45% of its balance sheet. The portfolio of ruble-denominated loans fell in November from Rub 343.9 bln to Rub 341.9 bln.
Raiffeisenbank earned Rub 6.5 bln in net profit last November. The bank's net profit dropped 1% y-o-y, while analysts still view the bank as one of the most profitable.
