Raiffeisen Bank Issues 2021 Guidance, Medium-Term Profit Distribution Target

By Olivia Bugault

Raiffeisen Bank International AG issued guidance for 2021 that includes a better return on equity and said it plans to distribute up to half of its profit in the medium term.

The Austrian banking group expects loans to modestly grow in the first half of 2021 and sees it accelerating during the last six months of the year, it said Wednesday. Raiffeisen also expects its consolidated return on equity to improve this year as it targets 11% in the medium term.

Furthermore, Raiffeisen confirmed its target of roughly 13% for its CET1 ratio for the medium term.

"Based on this target we intend to distribute between 20% and 50% of consolidated profit," Raiffeisen said.

The bank also said it is still committed to a cost-income ratio of roughly 55%, which could happen in 2022 or later depending on the pace of recovery.

"The provisioning ratio for FY 2021 is expected to be around 75 basis points, as moratoria and government support programs expire," it said.

Write to Olivia Bugault at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 17, 2021 03:23 ET (07:23 GMT)

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