All in one

How did Raiffeisen Bank change its former lending policy? We talked to György Dercsényi, the head of the bank’s small enterprise sector. T. M.: – The last 12 months were characterised by contracting business lending and less active commercial banks. What are the characteristics of Raiffeisen Bank’s lending practices and to what extent did risk assessment change? – The signs of stabilisation are apparent on the market and banks are trying to revive their lending activities. Companies have become more cost-sensitive and our Business Energy Package offers good conditions to them. In the past companies often used current account-type loans for investments, instead of solving liquidity problems – this later resulted in repayment difficulties. Now we try to offer customers loans tailored to their specific needs. • T.M.: – What kind of new products did you introduce because of the crisis? – There is great demand for simple products, so we introduced a Flat Rate account package. In the SME segment we created a flexible product called Interest Rate Sharpener savings account. Since the crisis broke the bank has been paying great attention to the management of its credit portfolio, creating opportunities for customers with difficulties to restructure loans. • T.M.: – Hungarian enterprises often complain about high interest rates and a low number of available loans. Do you agree with their criticism? – Because of the crisis the costs of loans have increased. To make loans simpler, this year Raiffeisen Bank changed from base rate pricing to Bubor-based pricing. We also started using an ‘all in’ indicator, to facilitate the monitoring of loan costs for enterprises.