The Russian subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has advertised dozens of new positions despite its parent company’s exit plans. The Financial Times reported that more than 2,400 advertisements have been placed since December. Of these, nearly 1,500 jobs were in sales management and customer service.
According to the Financial Times, the main objectives are “a multiple expansion of the active customer base and stable double-digit sales growth.” Raiffeisen is looking for “a client advisor who will attract clients,” the newspaper wrote, citing another advertisement.
Raiffeisen assures: Russia’s withdrawal will continue
In response to a request from Reuters news agency, the bank said the decline in Russian operations would continue in the 2024 financial year. The quotes from the job advertisements neither reflect the measures taken so far nor correspond to further plans for the Russian company.
In order to sell Raiffeisenbank Russia, positions that are necessary for the functioning of the banking activities must be further filled or replaced. “We can confirm that the increase in the number of employees and associated personnel costs is related to the independence of Raiffeisenbank Russia in the IT field prior to a possible sale. These increases are not related to business growth,” the RBI said.
Exit plans are in preparation, but the number of employees is increasing
RBI is the largest western bank in Russia. According to RBI, the Russian subsidiary’s loan volume has been reduced by 56 percent since the start of the war in Ukraine, and payment transaction activities have also been significantly reduced. The institute also continues to work on a possible sale or spin-off of its Russian activities. The number of employees had increased by more than four percent to 9,942 employees at the end of 2023.
As the “Financial Times” further reports, bank boss Johann Strobl has now had the vacancies checked. According to a report received by the manager of the Russian subsidiary bank, the advertisements used standard information that had incorrectly not been updated since the start of the war.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
