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Priorbank has had a good 12 months despite the economic problems in Belarus. In January the government negotiated a 15-month stand-by arrangement with the IMF for $2.5 billion as Belarus got sucked into the global financial crisis. In June the IMF announced that it would increase its facility by another $1 billion after Russia withheld a $500 million loan instalment, the last tranche of a $2 billion loan facility. Priorbank, however, brushed aside these issues by recording a 53.2% increase in net profits and a 45.5% rise in total assets. Its balance sheet was strengthened too, with its tangible common equity rising 57.4% in 2008. Part of the Raiffeisen International group, Priorbank has firmly established itself as the country’s leading bank. It has significantly grown its sales network and products – it is also the only bank that provides retail customers with the opportunity to conduct transactions on the internet. However, the corporate business is the bank’s driving force. Last year, Priorbank increased its loans portfolio to this sector by more than 20%.

In spite of strong competitive pressures at home and the challenge of the global financial crisis, Raiffeisen banka managed to maintain its number one spot in Serbia thanks to a strong across-the-board outperformance of its rivals in asset growth and profitability. At the end of 2008, the bank boasted more than 100 outlets serving almost 600,000 customers and covered all business segments including corporate, retail, small and medium-sized enterprise, and treasury and investment banking. Key financial highlights in 2008 included a 52% increase in operating income and 38% rise in net income. At the same time, the bank slashed its cost-income ratio by 15 percentage points to 49.1%.

Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) remains the pre-eminent bank in Slovenia, easily eclipsing its competitors in the breadth of its banking services and products. Despite a challenging domestic economic backdrop it retained its grip on the Slovenian banking market in 2008, registering positive growth in assets, loans and deposits. As a result it continues to control roughly a third of the Slovenian market. Highlights in 2008 included a $300 million capital increase, which boosted the bank’s capital base to almost €1.2 billion from €893 million in 2007, with the bank’s capital adequacy ratio increasing by one percentage point over the same period to reach a respectable 11.9%. Although after-tax profits slumped from €119 million to €49 million, there was positive news on net interest income, which jumped from €229 million to €286 million. As well as being the leading retail and corporate bank in Slovenia, NLB’s strong investment banking and asset management operations mean it is well placed to benefit from any economic upswing. As a systemically important bank, it has also secured a guarantee from the Slovenian government for a planned €2.5 billion bond issuance programme.

Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ) maintains its position as best bank in Croatia thanks to a strong showing in retail and corporate banking, with the bank boasting more than 1.6 million clients, giving it an 18.2% market share by the end of 2008. As a result, PBZ boosted its net profit by 18% on the previous year. In retail banking it maintained its strong comparative advantage over its competitors with the most extensive network, consisting of 230 branches and regional offices.

It has been a tough year for Azerbaijan’s economy following the fall in the oil price. Its banks too are finding life more challenging. Still, International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) continues to rack up impressive figures, with its net profit up 62%, total assets up 15% and tangible common equity up 93% in the period under review.

Credit Suisse’s Swiss corporate and retail banking unit achieved record financial results in 2008 despite unprecedented market dislocations. In particular, the growth in net new assets throughout the whole period including the first quarter of 2009 highlights the faith that clients have in the bank. Credit Suisse continues to be one of the best-capitalized banks in the world and therefore is seen as an source of stability and a safe haven within its home market.

Intesa Sanpaolo is among the top banking groups in the eurozone ranked by market capitalization and the clear leader in Italy in all business areas, across retail, corporate and wealth management. Thanks to a domestic network of 5,509 branches throughout the country, with market shares above 15% in most Italian regions, the group offers its services to about 11.2 million Italian customers. It has a leading share of loans and deposits.

Although 2008 was difficult for the financial sector globally, Rabobank managed to realize a 2% rise in net profit to €2.8 billion. Return on equity was 9.7% and the liquidity position lost none of its soundness. Amounts due to customers were 10% higher, at €304 billion. Also, the bank maintained good access to the capital market.

Raiffeisen Bank maintained its position as the largest single commercial bank by total assets in Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2008, boasting more than KM1 billion ($707.7 million) more assets than the second-largest individual bank. As the country’s leading universal bank, it increased its loan portfolio by more than 30% and its trade finance activities by 7.2% against a background of slowing lending growth generally. In project finance, the bank successfully financed and completed important real estate projects despite an unfavourable global backdrop for property markets. The bank was particularly successful in corporate banking, increasing its customer base by 25% in 2008, with corporate deposits rising a highly creditable 16.2% and corporate lending by 20% as a result.

Ceska Sporitelna’s tried and tested retail and corporate banking business model continued to serve it well in 2008, with the bank recording a more than 30% year-on-year increase in net profit that reached Kc15.81 billion (€628.38 million). The upbeat result was driven by a strong increase in net interest income, which rose 22.4% to Kc30.2 billion on the back of a 10%-plus increase in the bank’s lending book. Other positives included an increase in the bank’s return on assets, which grew to 1.8% in 2008 from 1.5% in 2007, while its capital adequacy ratio rose to 10.3% from 9.5% over the same period. Overall, the bank more than deserved to maintain its best bank title thanks to its market leadership in deposits, consumer and mortgage loans, payment and credit cards, as well as internet banking and asset management services.

As part of the largest international banking group operating in Kosovo, Raiffeisen Bank continues to push the boundaries in Europe’s newest independent state, adding to its already extensive branch network and customer base, which covers the spectrum from retail customers through to large corporates. In 2008, it added nine branches to its 38-strong network and boosted customer numbers by almost 33% to reach 230,000 by the end of the year. Consequently, it increased its deposit base by 26% to €495 million and its loan portfolio by 25.1% to €424 million, with total assets reaching €598 million, up 26% on an annual basis. The bank also launched a groundbreaking leasing company, which marks a first for Kosovo.

It’s a cliché – but when the going gets tough, the tough get going. It’s the clear theme that connects the winners in Euromoney’s best banks in central and eastern Europe awards. The past 12 months have arguably been the most testing in the region since it embarked on its transition from centrally planned to free-market economies following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Having become used to enjoying the full benefits of the cheap, plentiful global liquidity and investor appetite of the pre-credit-crunch era, the region has had to adjust to the rude shock of finding itself starved of capital and customer demand as the rising tide of risk aversion has blighted short-term economic prospects in the region. It’s appropriate therefore that RZB/Raiffeisen International, which helped to pioneer the development of the banking sector in the region when it was far from being an obviously attractive market, should retain its crown as the best banking group in central and eastern Europe. Having been at the forefront of the expansion of western European banking groups into the region in the 1990s, its long track record of operating in central and eastern Europe means that it is well placed to manage the risks as well as the rewards that the region has to offer. The Austrian bank’s ability to mitigate downside risk while maximizing upside potential has been a key factor in its award-winning performance. As a result the bank was able to deliver yet another strong set of results for 2008, reporting a record net consolidated profit of €982 million, up 16.7% on the previous year’s record return of €841 million. Herbert Stepic, chief executive of Raiffeisen International, whose missionary zeal about the business prospects in central and eastern Europe has helped to propel the bank to the forefront of the banking markets in the region, says that despite the economic slowdown in central and eastern Europe Raiffeisen International remains fully committed to its operations in the region. "The name of the game as a bank is to carry our customers through the crisis and not to panic," he says. Stepic believes that, with more than 20 years’ experience of operating in central and eastern Europe, Raiffeisen International has created a well-balanced universal banking model that is sufficiently robust to weather the economic storm. "Our banking model is good for generating profits in the good times as well as managing risk in the bad times," he says, adding: "I’m extremely happy that we have a diversified geographic and business segment model." In particular, with a presence in 17 central and eastern European countries and more than 15 million customers, Raiffeisen is well positioned to mitigate different risks across the region. "With our across-the-board activities we have built-in insurance in our business model," Stepic says. He adds that, in contrast to some of its rivals that paid top-of-the market valuations for its acquisitions in the region: "We have always paid reasonable multiple for our acquisitions that have totalled €600 million, which is a very low amount."