A SUPPLEMENT TO EUROMONEY/APRIL 1999: EASTERN EUROPE
"It is the chance of the century," says Herbert Stepic, vice-chairman of Austria's Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB). "We have emerging markets at our front garden. Bratislava is only 60 kilometres from Vienna. The growth rate is 40% to 60% in eastern Europe, double the growth rate in western Europe." When the Russian economy collapsed, many investors thought all its neighbours would fall with it. But several countries in central and eastern Europe held on and turned the crisis to their advantage. Their ability to get deals done so soon after the rouble depreciation confirmed that much of the region west of the former Soviet Union is now a solid market.
As with any burgeoning economic region where stakes are still being claimed, denigration of the competition is a strong temptation, particularly for pioneering banks. Austrian banks recognized the potential several years ago and have readily entered eastern Europe. By virtue of their proximity and their historical role as a gateway to the east, they like to think they have top priority.
Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA/CA International) sees itself as the region's universal bank. It has subsidiaries in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine.