Austrian lender Raiffeisen Bank has recently opened a new office for the Unirea branch in the capital city, having invested EUR 400,000 in opening this new branch, according to the bank. The new office has an area of around 400 sqm and the lease contract was signed for a period of 5 years, according to Vladimir Kalinov, Retail Division’s Vice-President. Raiffeisen has moved its Unirea branch from a nearby location to the corner of a block in Unirii Square, which has a higher visibility and traffic. The space now occupied by Raiffeisen Bank used to host an Intersport store.

This year, the bank also relocated offices in other big cities in Romania, namely Iasi, Timisoara and Constanta. “We are in a constant and a dynamic process of repositioning the network, considering the real estate market developments, and also the changes in the local market," said Vladimir Kalinov.

Currently, Raiffeisen Bank has 541 branches in Romania and 2 million customers. The number of customers increased by 10 percent in the last year and is expected to continue to grow due to the relocation process.

Raiffeisen Bank posted a profit of EUR 39 million in the first half of 2011 in Romania, 22 percent lower than the one of EUR 50 million reported in the first six months of 2010, while the bank’s total assets amounted to EUR 5.17 billion, an increase of 13 percent compared to EUR 4.57 billion at the end of June 2010.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Raiffeisen)