The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks

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30 High media profile Highlighting our service role through the Golden Partner programme Students and schoolchildren During the year under review RLB and its high-profile activities received increasingly frequent coverage in the Austrian media. The daily papers reported extensively on our Pension Saving Saturdays, Home Ownership Weeks, Money & More loans, and free Internet service offer. The Bank also attracted attention with its PR campaigns on investment topics, such as detailed press kits on tax-efficient investments after the abolition of anonymous savings books. The number of press reports rose by about one-third from 1999 levels, playing a major part in increasing awareness of RLB and enhancing its image. The Vienna Raiffeisen network is pushing ahead along the road from transaction to service driven banking. In line with this approach RLB launched the “Golden Partner Programme”, aimed at achieving a sustained improvement in customer loyalty. Using a large customer database, RLB identified its key regular customers. Centrally planned activities carried out on the ground by individual relationship managers were targeted at these customers, as were gifts and special promotions designed to strengthen Golden Partners’ ties with the Bank. In 2000, the “Yellow Café”, set up during the enrolment period, the sponsorship and co-organization of numerous university events such as the DocLX-Uni-Fest and Tuesday4Club, and special offers aimed at students (e.g. a securities based fund with an opportunity to win a ATS 300,000 prize), met with a strong response and brought us new customers. During the year RLB worked closely with 18 Vienna schools. RLB sponsored school sports days, matriculation parties and a basketball trophy, and frequently set up information stands at the schools. A mail shot with tips on life after leaving school, sent out to sixth formers, was particularly well received. Retail banking in Vienna Since 2000 all RLB account holders have been entitled to a free Netway Internet connection. This campaign has been promoted by distributing 10,000 CD-ROMs in Vienna. Young people are not the only target group; the special “Netway Aktiv” offer is tailored to Raiffeisen customers aged between 55 and 65. Parallel to the introduction of free Internet access, RLB also promoted “Raiffeisen.direkt loans” and “free Internet and phoning” offers. RLB has a long record of cooperation with 13 Vienna guilds. The Bank assists Vienna businesses by offering subsidized loans and balance sheet check-ups, and by sponsoring events. Cooperation with the guilds includes organizing guild masters’ round tables, lectures and trade group meetings. Another example was financial support for an advertising campaign run by the Vienna bakers’ guild. RLB lent a total of ATS 661.4 m to Viennese retailers and small businesses in 2000. RLB won the cooperative bank category of the Award for Premium Banking Quality, held for the second time in 2000. The awards, run by the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration Institute for Banking Studies in conjunction with the Die Presse daily paper, is aimed at promoting quality consciousness in the Austrian banking industry. RLB won top marks for customer and employee satisfaction, and quality conscious management in the cooperative bank, savings bank and banker’s banker class. Retail banking in Vienna Free Internet access Working with Vienna’s retailers and small businesses Banking quality “Oscar” 31
Treasury & Investment Products Tailor-made pension plans: customer relationship manager Monika Mahr-Reck helping a customer to look at the financial future at the Looshaus branch. During the year under review RLB took an innovative approach to its securities business. At the start of the year we issued a “Millennium Bond” with certificates designed and hand signed by the well-known painter Karl Korab. We structured three other own issues as index-linked guaranteed certificates. Own issues by RLB True to our pioneering role with regard to the issuance ATS m, as of 31. Dec. of so-called “cash-or-share” bonds with redemption 1996 2,540 modalities tied to the per- 19 97 3,260 formance of given shares, we issued 18 high-yield equity 1998 3,316 bonds. 1999 6,232 The total volume of our 2000 6,500 42 offerings during the year under review was ATS 6.5 bn – 4.3 percent or ATS 268 m more than in 1999. The total nominal value of outstanding own issues as at 31 December 2000 was ATS 21.9 bn. In 2000 RLB’s drive to expand our investment fund business – particularly fund-based retirement saving plans – again brought significant growth in securities under management. At balance sheet date the Lower Austria and Vienna Raiffeisen Banking Market value of securities issued by the Group Group had ATS 132.3 bn in security custody accounts ATS m, as of 31. Dec. under management on behalf of personal and 1996 90,171 corporate customers, and 19 97 95,689 Lower Austrian Raiffeisen 1998 100,721 banks. This represented an increase of 18.7 percent on 1999 111,474 the ATS 111.5 bn under management as of the end of 2000 132,265 1999. Treasury & Investment Products Securities 33
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The Lower Austrian Raiffeisen banks

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