4
Foreword
Dear readers,
The 2018 financial year was particularly successful for RBI. The group result increased from € 1.12 billion to
€ 1.27 billion or by around 14 percent, thereby significantly exceeding the extremely good figure recorded in the
previous year. The main drivers behind this result were the development of risk costs, which benefited from strong
economic performance in Central and Eastern Europe, and the active steps taken to improve our risk profile.
This Report has been prepared in accordance with the internationally recognized “GRI Standards” framework
issued by the Global Reporting Initiative. It constitutes RBI’s “non-financial report” pursuant to the Austrian
Sustainability and Diversity Improvement Act and has been audited by KPMG and the Supervisory Board. The
motto of the report, “Digital solutions for a sustainable future”, was selected to underline the importance of the
digital transformation – and its far-reaching impacts, opportunities and challenges for business and society in
general and RBI in particular.
We have been a member of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest initiative for corporate
responsibility and sustainability, since 2010. Along with the numerous projects and measures described in the
report, this clearly shows that sustainability plays an important role in our business activities. As an international
banking group, we believe our commitment to sustainability also includes a responsibility to continue to support
the global development goals, the “Sustainable Development Goals”, as part of the United Nations’ “Agenda
2030”. And we are intensively addressing developments in the EU on the topic of sustainable finance.
The challenges for the business model of RBI will continue to be influenced by supervisory and regulatory
requirements, banking-specific taxes, politically motivated market interventions, the continued low-interest
environment as well as technological developments and new competitors. To successfully overcome these
challenges, RBI has now returned its focus to growth and intensified its activities in the area of digitization and
innovation following the transformation program that culminated in the sale of the Polish core banking operations.
RBI will continue focusing on the CEE region, which offers a structure with higher growth rates than Western Europe
as well as a more attractive level of interest and earning potential. Looking at its leading specialist institutions in
Austria, such as the building society, asset management company, and pension fund management company in
particular, RBI also benefits from the stability of its Austrian business areas. All in all, this results in a balanced,
attractive business portfolio with the overriding goal of generating long-term value.
RBI has an environmental and social management system in place at seven network banks and a corresponding
environmental and social policy that defines the principles of its environmental and social risk management.
These are predominantly based on the standards of the International Finance Corporation and/or the Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency.
In late June 2018, RBI successfully completed the first benchmark issue of a green bond by an Austrian bank. The
bond has a volume of € 500 million and a term of three years. With an order volume of € 1.3 billion, the green
bond was significantly oversubscribed. It means we can now serve the continuous growth in demand for green
investment opportunities in line with the current global trend, while also financing sustainable projects in Austria
and CEE. The issue also served to expand RBI’s investor base.
RBI AG and its Austrian subsidiaries and equity participations are extremely relevant to the Austrian economy.
This is illustrated by the calculation of the “economic footprint®”, which was conducted in summer 2018 in
cooperation with the economic research institute Economica. For example, the total gross value added generated
by RBI in Austria amounts to € 1.8 billion, and one in every 331 jobs in Austria is directly or indirectly attributable
to RBI. The full results of the analysis can be found from page 45 onward.
Among other things, we see the rating results and awards discussed below as recognition of our many years of
commitment to sustainability. In June 2018, RBI was again awarded Prime status and an assessment level of “C+”
in the ISS oekom research sustainability rating, while RBI AG was included in the VÖNIX sustainability index
for the thirteenth time in succession. It was also listed in the STOXX® Global ESG Leaders indexes and the
FTSE4Good Index Series. Once a year, the non-profit organization CDP surveys and evaluates the CO2 emissions
Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2018