OREANDA-NEWS. On March 16, 2007 Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG, the sole shareholder of IMPEXBANK, formally decided to merge its Russian subsidiaries Raiffeisenbank Austria and IMPEXBANK. The legal merger process will start immediately and the process is expected to continue until the end of 2007, reported the press-service of Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG.

“2006 marked the beginning of a new period in the development of Raiffeisen in Russia with Raiffeisen International’s purchase of 100 per cent of the shares of IMPEXBANK,” said Johann Jonach, Chairman of the Managing Board of Raiffeisenbank Austria. “We spent 2006 actively preparing for the start of the legal merger, which we plan to complete by the end of this year. One of our major objectives is to continue to develop and consolidate our position in Russia. We strive to become the best private full-service bank with representation on the national level. And on top of that, superior customer service quality and further expansion of banking products will remain our priority.”

IMPEXBANK CEO Pavel Lysenko emphasised that “the legal and actual integrations are equally important processes for us. The legal merger does not mean the full technological integration of the banks, though many products and services will be available for customers in all the branches of the combined bank.” Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG operates one of the leading banking networks in CEE, with subsidiary banks and leasing companies in 16 markets. Approximately 12 million customers are serviced through more than 2,800 business outlets. In eight markets, the respective network bank is one of the three largest local banks. Representative offices in Lithuania and Moldova complement the Group’s presence in the region. Raiffeisen International is a fully consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB), which owns 70 percent of the share capital. The remaining 30 per cent of the shares are traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange. RZB is a leading corporate and investment bank in Austria, and the central institution of Austria’s Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country’s largest banking group.