Priorbank
Priorbank, which was acquired by Austria’s Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) at the end of 2002, has won the award as a result of outstanding profit figures and the positive effects of the merger.
Judging by its performance last year, RZB has bought a highly profitable bank. Priorbank boosted net profit by 95.1% and achieved an ROE of 35.5%. It almost doubled Tier 1 capital and expanded assets by 82.4% to E274m, making it the largest privately-owned bank in Belarus.
The bank, which operates a network of 71 branches in Belarus serving 400,000 customers, has achieved dynamic growth and profitability for several years without any state support whatsoever, as RZB points out.
Following its acquisition by RZB, Priorbank is improving both its service and its product range. It was the first bank in Belarus to issue Visa Electron credit cards, to permit payments of mobile phone services via cash machines and to send bank account statements by e-mail.
Priorbank’s award is based on two fundamentals,” said Sergey Kostyuchenko, CEO of Priorbank. “Since its establishment in 1989, Priorbank managed to become the third largest commercial bank in Belarus. It has a strong reputation as a pioneer in the local banking market. The second reason is the bank’s shareholder structure: the recent acquisition of 58% by Raiffeisen Zentralbank strengthens the position of Priorbank domestically and internationally. The second largest shareholder, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in addition to an equity investment, has provided the bank with access to its programmes aiming to support private business and foreign trade operations.”
