Published: November 8, 2011
Russia, Poland and other markets have “very favourable” outlooks, says Raiffeisen.
The outlook for the largest banking systems in Central and Eastern Europe is “very favourable” despite economic challenges, according to a new study from one of the region’s leading financial groups.
Raiffeisen Bank International’s “Banking Sector Convergence 2.0” report urges caution regarding the near-term outlook given deterioration in the macroeconomic environment for CEE during the second half of 2011.
Nonetheless, not all countries are expected to suffer equally. The report concludes that the medium to longer-term outlook for banking sector growth remains strong in Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Albania, which together represent 80% of total banking sector assets in the region.
These economies, the report adds, are likely to remain high-growth markets in which nominal loan and asset growth will outpace nominal GDP growth.
In contrast, decreasing loan-to-GDP ratios could be in the pipeline for some Southeastern Europe and CIS economies.
The full report can be seen here: http://www.rbinternational.com/ceebankingreport2011 The December-January edition of EMEA Finance will include an interview with its author.