Raiffeisen Bank Polska, the Polish subsidiary of the Austrian bank, used 2003 as a chance to build out its business with small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and begin a drive into retail banking and let the profits swell.
The bank has announced PLN86.9m (Ђ18.45m) in 2003 net profits, a stunning gain from the PLN9.8m (Ђ2.08m) in 2002. The gain pushed performance, as measured by return on equity, to 15.7%.
The bank has been busy with SMEs, to which it directs much of its corporate banking offer. Credit volumes to firms with turnover of between PLN3.4m and PLN20m were up by 51%.
Despite the risk traditionally associated with this sector, officials claim that loan portfolio quality improved during the period.
