Stepic, Raiffeisen: We are freezing network expansion

Raiffeisen International, owner of the fourth largest bank on the Romanian market in terms of assets, could freeze expansion of its branch network in the region next year, given the difficult context, says Herbert Stepic, CEO of the Austrian group. “There will be only 40-50 branch openings in the region, which are already being prepared,” Stepic said in an interview for Wiener Zeitung daily, adding that the group is already well-positioned with 2,170 branches, over 500 of which are located in Romania. The Austrian banker also criticises reports in the Anglo-American press, which treat all the countries in the region the same way in the context of the international crisis, “as if this were still the Cold War.” “He completely ignores the fact that many of these countries are under the EU umbrella. (…) It is a “catch the thief” approach meant to turn attention away from the crisis, which, in fact, is the USA”.