RBP's aggressive strategy and focus on SMEs begins to pay off

Raiffeisen Bank Polska (RBP), the eleventh largest bank, announced plans to post a 2003 net profit of zł. 65 million. The bank, which is controlled by Austria's Raiffeisen Zentralbank, also plans to enter retail banking activities. The three first quarters of the year allowed the company to post a net profit of zł. 49 million, which is a 109% increase since last year. "We are developing in all sectors of the market, we improved the quality of our credit portfolio, and we are beginning an offensive strategy in the credit card market," announced RBP's president Piotr Czarnecki. The bank is also constantly improving its services for the SME sector, and this is reflected in the fact that it has gained 30% more accounts from SMEs over the last nine months, and the value of loans it granted the sector increased by 52%. (Puls Biznesu, p. 11; Parkiet, p. 4) A.K.