October 17 (SeeNews) - Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) said that it will downsize its operations in Slovenia due to the competitive environment in the tiny Adriatic state and in a bid to optimize the allocation of resources within the group.
"This will go hand in hand with a reduction of assets over time and an adaptation of resources in the next years. The ongoing service for our customers through business outlets in the country is ensured," the bank's public relations office told SeeNews in an email on Wednesday.
In view of its position as Slovenia's 10th largest bank, RBI said it sees limited potential for growth on a market of 2.0 million people which is relatively saturated.
The statement came in response to a report by Slovenian business daily Finance that the scale-down would lead to cutting about half of the 326 jobs in the country. An RBI spokesman told Austrian daily Wirtschaftsblatt that the figure was "pure speculation".
Slovenia accounts for about 1.0% of the total assets of the RBI group. As of June 30, the Austrian group had 17 business outlets in the country.