Raiffeisen to focus on sales

Raiffeisen Romania is completely reshuffling its operations, adopting a model that predominantly focuses on product and services sale activities. This process will have an impact this year”s financial figures.

“So far, we”ve had a strictly hierarchical, geographical structure. The model is obsolete. We are now adopting a more specialised structure, focusing on the retail and corporate sectors, based on sales. For instance, people working in retail will no longer report to branch managers, but to regional heads in charge with this segment. The same will happen in the corporate segment. The process is ongoing and we need to take a few more steps, which process will last till the end of this year. We”ve decided to push ahead with this restructuring now, even though maybe this was not the ideal time for it. This entire process will have an impact on the results, of course,” stated Steven van Groningen, chairman of the bank.

On the corporate side of the business, there are eight regional managers reporting to an executive manager who in his turn reports to first vice-president Marinel Burduja. The retail side has 16 regional managers reporting to three area managers, who in turn report to an executive manager. Vice-president Rasvan Munteanu is in charge with the retail business.

According to a report by Raiffeisen”s majority shareholder, the Romanian branch posted a slight decline in assets by 0.3% to 3.02 billion euros in the first quarter. The bank publishes complete financial results on a half-year basis. Last year, Raiffeisen Romania derived profit worth 52 million euros, double the value posted in 2004, and its assets increased by 46%, after having doubled in 2004.

“Banking competition is much tighter now and it will be very difficult for us to have the same results as last year. Gain margins of some products dropped by half, and lending activities depend on competition and National Bank regulations,” stated Herbert Stepic (photo), chairman of Raiffeisen International, the architect behind the Austrian bank”s expansion in Central and Eastern Europe. cristian.hostiuc@zf.ro