The Raiffeisen Banking Group was founded in 1886 by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (1818-1888), one of the most important social reformers of the 19th century. The original goal was to provide basic banking services to the rural population based on cooperative principles.

Only ten years after the foundation of the first Raiffeisenkasse in Muehldorf (Lower Austria), 600 banks were operating according to the Raiffeisen system. Those local cooperatives formed Raiffeisen Regional Banks as regional clearing institutions. Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederoesterreich was founded in 1898. On a federal level, a joint association was founded in 1898 ("Austrian Raiffeisen Association") and the central institution Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG in 1927.

The banking group's unique trade mark is the so called "gable cross" - a symbol of protection and cooperation.

The Raiffeisen idea has proven to be timeless: Today, the Raiffeisen Banking Group is not only Austria's largest banking group with approx. 265 bn. EUR total assets but one of the most important banking groups and investors in Central and Eastern Europe. As such, Raiffeisen serves more than 14 million customers via 16 subsidiary banks and Leasing companies in a network of more than 3.000 outlets ranging from Prague to Vladivostok.

  Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederoesterreich-Wien at a glance
  Raiffeisen Banking Group – The Three Tier Structure
  Major Contacts for International Financial Institutions
  Über uns (German pages)