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Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2017
GRI content index / Assurance statement Engaged citizen Fair partner Responsible banker Sustainability management Overview Foreword
and water pollution) is not in accordance with the business policy of RBI. Our employees are required to ensure
that during financing and project audits, the company being financed is using resources in a way that ensures
compliance with the respective regional and EU environmental legislation as well as with the international agreements
on protecting the environment.
Furthermore, RBI does not participate in the building of nuclear power plants or their operators or transactions
with them. Likewise, we are not involved in business transactions involving weapons and other military goods,
or involving materials of repression in countries where there is, or is expected to be, military conflict or political
unrest. RBI does not invest in companies that manufacture, maintain or trade in military goods or weapons.
Financing and other transactions with military companies are strictly restricted. In addition, RBI naturally complies
with international standards on financial sanctions and trade restrictions. As previously mentioned, we are also a
signatory of the Global Compact of the United Nations (see page 11). In connection with the gambling industry,
we strive to finance exclusively reputable, transparent companies within the European Economic Area or other
European countries with a regulated gambling market that are subject to supervision, comply with the principles
of responsible gaming and adhere to the AML and CTF standards.
The credit portfolio of the group is controlled by means of the portfolio strategy. Lending in different countries,
sectors or types of products is thus limited, which enables the concentration of undesirable risks to be avoided.
The risks and potentials of various industries are evaluated in individual countries based on an “industry heat
map”. On this basis, lending guidelines and limits for future structuring of the credit portfolio are developed.
Specific lending criteria for individual customer segments and countries are defined by credit committees, which
consist of representatives of the front office and back office areas. The composition varies depending on the
customer group for corporate customers, financial institutions, public authorities and retail. The credit committees
make all associated lending decisions within the framework of the lending approval process and the rating and
volume-oriented assignment of responsibility (details on the loan decision process and the Credit Portfolio
Management department can be found in the 2017 RBI Annual Report, on page 151).
The lending decision process is carried out on a case-by-case basis, following standardized
principles and guidelines. As such, there is a clear personnel and functional separation between
the business activities and all risk management activities. In addition to classic “hard facts” and
numerous qualitative criteria, our internal rating model incorporates an evaluation of the
management, which is responsible for adequate handling of environmental and social topics within
the company. An evaluation is also performed as to whether an industry is subject to special environmental
or social risks, including human rights violations or health risks, and whether a potential borrower follows the
existing rules with regard to the environment, human rights and health. The agreed credit terms are also
assessed as standard as part of the annual analyses. Group Compliance is responsible for all issues
concerning compliance with legal requirements.
The described group-wide standards apply to all group units, but these are also supplemented with local,
sometimes more stringent, internal guidelines and policies by many of our network banks. They take into
account, to varying extents, the social and environmental risk strategies of the respective bank, define
sometimes higher minimum criteria or define the exact procedure for compliance with all of the agreed-upon
principles.
The standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and/or the Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency (MIGA) apply at eight network banks: Raiffeisen Polbank, Raiffeisen Bank Sh.A. in Albania, Raiffeisen
BANK d.d. Bosna i Hercegovina, Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo J.S.C., Raiffeisen Bank S.A. in Romania (which has
also committed to compliance with the EBRD standards), Raiffeisen banka a.d. in Serbia, Priorbank JSC in
Belarus and AO Raiffeisenbank in Russia.