By Ivona Zametica, Raiffeisen Bank in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Gunter Deuber, RBI | The economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) reported decent average real GDP growth of 3.1 percent year-on-year from 2015-2018. Nevertheless, average growth of 3.1 percent is still below the level of some peers in South-Eastern Europe (SEE), and still far below […]
By Natalya Chernogorova, Priorbank Belarus | Twenty-five kilometers away to the north of Belarus’ capital city Minsk there is a newly evolving multinational smart eco-town with a focus on high-tech innovative industries and a well-developed social infrastructure, green recreational and residential areas. This is how the Sino-Belarus Great Stone Industrial Park is projected to look […]
By Oleksandr Kryshtal, Raiffeisen Bank Aval | Fintech primarily refers to innovations in the financial sector. Such innovations may include a new customer experience, a completely new product or modernization of cross-banking technology. Fintech has the ability to bring banking into the modern age offering advanced solutions to the financial services world. However, some time […]
By Galina Tsvintarnaya, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Ukraine | Alex Lissitsa is the CEO of IMC, an integrated agricultural business company, and president of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, an association representing the interests of over 100 leading Ukrainian agro-food companies. Lissitsa was born in Chernihiv region in Ukraine, studied at the National Agricultural University of Ukraine […]
By Jelena Lapčević, Raiffeisen banka in Serbia | As in all markets, banks in Serbia are joining the race to introduce innovations: Who will be the first to implement some cutting-edge feature in banking business? Who will be the first to offer an innovative service or product? Raiffeisen banka in Serbia has always been among […]
By Zoran Petrović, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank in Serbia | When it comes to digital banking, records of Raiffeisen Bank in Serbia showed an interesting twist at the end of last year when it became clear that the number of active mobile banking users surpassed the number of electronic banking users. For Raiffeisen, a bank keen […]
By Ozren Tabaković, Raiffeisen Bank Croatia | The cooperation in the frame of the Women in Business Programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with Raiffeisen Bank in Croatia has encouraged many young woman entrepreneurs to leap into business waters. We talked to Višnja Mrakovčić Supek, Principal Manager, Advice for Small Businesses, […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | Innovative solutions for analysis of large databases, developed by students from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, are being tested in a real business environment at Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria. Together with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the Sofia University, the bank held the first […]
By Zoltan Török (Raiffeisen Bank in Hungary) and Gunter Deuber (RBI) | In spite of the recent and noticeable economic slowdown in the euro area and Germany (a major trading partner of Hungary), the Hungarian economy delivered record-high GDP growth at 5 percent in 2018. Hungary thus continues the strong growth performance of recent years, […]
By Christof Danz, RBI | If you think of European fintech centers, then London, Berlin and Stockholm are probably the first places that come to mind. And if you look eastwards you might also consider the Baltic States. But did you know that there is a very lively fintech scene in Bulgaria or that Belarus […]
By Andrea Cintulova and Tanja Imamovic, RBI | Which non-banker would suspect that the harmless sounding abbreviation PSD2 hides one of the biggest change processes the banking industry has ever seen? PSD, short from Payment Service Directive, was adopted in 2007 with the goal of creating a single market for payments across the European Union. […]
By Tibor Lörincz, Tatra banka | In recent years, Slovakia has earned the reputation of an automobile powerhouse. Looking at the number of cars produced per capita, it has a clear edge over other countries. However, Slovakia is more than just a country of car plants. A new economic sector of shared service centers has […]