The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks

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18 E-banking gaining ground Raiffeisen banks online Customer deposit guarantee scheme launched At year end the Tier 1 capital of the Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks was up by 5 percent to ATS 8.6 bn. Total eligible capital resources also increased by 5 percent, to reach ATS 10.8 bn. These figures yield a Tier 1 capital ratio of 10.7 percent and a total risk asset ratio of 13.4 percent. Capital resources ATS m, as of 31 Dec. 1996 19 97 1998 1999 2000 8,895 (12.93%)* 9,393 (13.09%)* 9,861 (13.26%)* 10,292 (13.31%)* 10,773 (13.39 %)* * Risk asset ratio In 2000 a total of 3,171 persons were employed at 102 Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks, which had 598 branches. The electronic processing of banking transactions continues to gain ground. The number of e-banking enabled accounts almost doubled in the course of the year. By the end of 2000 nearly 63,000 (11.5 percent) of the 547,000 current accounts were already equipped with e-banking functionality. With active assistance from RLB, two pilot projects, in Guntramsdorf and Marchfeld–Mitte, created regional virtual marketplaces. These give companies easy access to local e-business opportunities. The concept is to be implemented throughout Lower Austria. All the Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks now have their own websites, accessible via the www.direkt.at portal. In autumn 2000 the Lower Austrian Customer Deposit Guarantee Association became operational as part of the nationwide Raiffeisen scheme. These arrangements help provide formal confirmation of the creditworthiness of the Raiffeisen Banking Group as a whole, and add a legally binding agreement to the informal solidarity already practised by the Group’s banks. The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks Mutual liability applies to all forms of customer deposits, includ- ing savings, sight and time deposits, as well as to issues of securities and, in the case of RLB, the deposits of other banks. RLB assisted the Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks by running an information campaign, launched on 1 November 2000, on the abolition of anonymous savings books. To familiarize the banks’ employees with the legal changes, between the start of August and the end of September RLB and Modal co-organized training courses for 500 staff members. In its role as lead bank, RLB assisted its owners by launching a number of joint projects aimed at optimizing their organization and market development activities. A benchmarking study conducted by an independent consultant compared the market shares, earnings and productivity of the Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks with those of Raiffeisen banks in other provinces, and of other comparable Austrian banks. As a result the banks now have adequate, nationwide yardsticks for measuring their performance. The Raiffeisen banks need to reposition themselves to adjust to a changed business environment. This is the purpose of the “ERFOLG” (Success) projects being implemented in conjunction with RLB, which are aimed at a strategic realignment that will take members towards the goal of “service driven banking”. Such projects have already led to the professionalization and reorganization along customer led lines of one-third of the business of the Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks. An ever-increasing number of Raiffeisen banks are also benefiting from the modern MER management performance assessment formula. This permits profit oriented bank controlling, from individual customers through to product costing. MER is already being used to cost and analyse almost 40 percent of all customer business in Lower Austria. The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks End of the road for anonymous savings books Benchmarking for Raiffeisen banks On the road to service driven banking 19
20 New governing bodies and career paths Managing interest rate risk Assisted self-service spreading fast The same goal of advancing towards service driven banking is behind the reorganization of banks’ governing bodies, with a view to promotíng the use of professional market development methods. The new management structure entered force in March 2001. Responsibilities have been redefined and working methods adapted to new market requirements, in line with the strategic focus on retail, private and corporate banking business. New career paths for employees, and a major effort to advise banks on distribution are also helping the Group to progress along this path. The professional active and passive risk management methods (gap analysis) used by most of the Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks were further refined. The new Raiffeisen bank nostro account service for securities has shown its worth. RLB has developed special umbrella funds for own investments in securities which give all the Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks a simple means of managing their interest rate risk. Another side of the reshaping of the whole organization to meet new customer requirements is the modernization of many bank branches along “assisted self-service” lines. Every second staff member is now working at a branch that has been upgraded in the past three years. The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks With the launch of the MARKEting network, RLB created a new information and communication platform for the entire Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banking group. The network is used not just to bring relevant marketing news to the Raiffeisen banks, but also for reverse information flows. Current issues and needs at the sales front are surveyed and responded to by our marketing planning. “MARKEting” training seminars have also been introduced, and have already been incorporated in the nationwide executive training programme. The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks MARKEting network 21
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The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks

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