Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) history, profile and history video
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) is a banking and financial services group headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) is considered one of the largest corporate and investment banks in Austria. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), its subsidiary banks operate as universal financial institutions for corporate banking, investment banking and retail banking.
Additionally, the Group also comprises other financial service providers, for instance in the fields of leasing, asset management, factoring, and M&A.
HISTORY
Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (1818 – 1888) was a German social reformer. At the time when he was the mayor of a community in the Westerwald region, he was confronted by the plight of farmers, labourers and craftsmen on a daily basis.
In line with the system devised by Raiffeisen, the farmers started forming cooperatives that were not geared towards profit, but to supporting their members. Members’ savings were pooled in the loan fund associations and were available to members in the form of low-cost long-term loans.
The first Raiffeisen bank in Austria was founded in 1886 in Mühldorf, with farmers, craftsmen, labourers and traders as its members. Soon, numerous Raiffeisen banks were founded with the support of the regional state parliaments.
In 1898, a central association of cooperatives was established in line with the Raiffeisen system, and subsequently became known as the “Allgemeiner Verband landwirtschaftlicher Genossenschaften in Österreich” (general association of agricultural cooperatives in Austria).
In 1927, Genossenschaftliche Zentralbank was established as cooperative central bank. It was renamed Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB) in 1989.
In 1946, the “Allgemeine Verband” (general association), originally founded in 1898, was re-established. Since 1960, it has traded under the name of “Österreichischer Raiffeisenverband”.
In 1961, the first Raiffeisenbank in the Austrian capital was established in Wien-Oberlaa. The Raiffeisen Banking Group pioneered some unprecedented approaches to sponsorship, and Rapid Wien became the first football club to be sponsored in Austria.
In 1986, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB) founded its first subsidiary bank in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in Hungary.
In 2005, Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding A.G. was listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
In 2010, the commercial customer business of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB) merged with Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG. Raiffeisen Bank International AG was created, and RZB remained the lead institute of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group and headquarters for the entire RZB Group.
In 2017, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich A.G. (RZB), the central institution of the Raiffeisen Banking Group Austria (RBG), merged with its subsidiary Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which became the comprehensive legal successor of RZB.
RBI is represented in 25 countries with subsidiary banks in CEE, as well with representative offices and service branches in Asian and Western European locations.
LOCATIONS
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
- Albania
- Belarus
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Hungary
- Kosovo
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Ukraine
WESTERN EUROPE
- Austria
- Belgium (EU Liaison Office)
- France
- Germany
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
Turkey (Raiffeisen Investment AG)
ASIA
- China
- India
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Vietnam
- Japan (Cooperation with Mizuho Bank)
AMERICAS
- USA
With over 45,000 employees and more than 1,700 business outlets, Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) is considered one of the largest banks in Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). According to Forbes, it is considered one of the Top 2000 Largest Public Companies in the World and one of the World’s Best Banks.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.rbinternational.com/en.
**Video published on YouTube by “Banque Raiffeisen“.