Profits dip at Austrian banking giant RBI

Vienna - Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which has a major presence in central and Eastern Europe, said Thursday that net profit fell 20% in 2013 to €603m.

The drop was due to higher provisioning for bad loans, including in Russia, higher bank levies and a negative result from derivatives and liabilities, RBI said in a statement.

Pre-tax profit was €835m, down €203m, but operating income rose 8.2% to €5.7bn and net interest income was up 7.4% at €3.7bn.

"Our good operating result proves once again that our business model is sound, also in challenging times and despite allowing for high provisions," chief executive Karl Sevelda said.

RBI operates in 15 countries with 14.6 million customers.