Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich reports 54% profit surge in 2025
Reinhard Schwendtbauer, who took over as CEO of Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich (RLB OÖ) in May 2025, had plenty to smile about at his first annual press conference. The bank reported pre-tax profits of €748.3 million—a staggering 53.8 percent increase over the previous year.
"We are highly satisfied with our core operations, but in 2025, we particularly benefited from strong performance in our key investments and fewer loan defaults," Schwendtbauer stated during the event. He highlighted the bank's stakes in Raiffeisen Bank International (contributing €164 million in earnings), voestalpine (€150 million), and Raiffeisenbank in the Czech Republic (€98 million), where RLB holds a 25 percent share alongside RBI.
Mortgage Lending
Schwendtbauer also expressed satisfaction with the bank's renewed growth in the real estate sector. New private residential mortgage agreements surged by nearly 50 percent, while lending volumes rose by two-thirds. Early 2026 figures suggest even stronger growth. "Many households are taking advantage of the more stable interest rate environment and current property market dynamics to pursue housing projects," he explained. "At the same time, rising wages have significantly improved affordability, boosting confidence in long-term financing—and with it, the willingness to invest."
Regarding commercial real estate, now under heightened scrutiny by financial regulators, Schwendtbauer sees the situation stabilizing, warning that further tightening would be counterproductive. Of the 64 Raiffeisen banks in Upper Austria, fewer than ten faced significant loan issues, but those have since been resolved.
Corporate-level loan defaults declined from 6.3 to 5.6 percent, allowing the bank to reduce risk provisions by €19 million to €156.5 million.
Looking ahead, RLB's chief executive sees "no fundamental pessimism," provided oil prices do not remain permanently above $100 per barrel. While the short-term outlook is "somewhat clouded," he believes that if conditions ease in the coming three weeks, GDP growth of around 1 percent remains achievable.
