LONDON - As Austrian bank Raiffeisen benefits from robust growth in Central and Eastern Europe, it can also sleep easy knowing that its early entrance into the market may have kept it safe from new Western competitors. Raiffeisen beat market expectations with a 49.0% rise in second-quarter net profit, to 311 million euros ($483 million), on Thursday, and said it had “defied the global financial market crisis,” thanks to its strong presence in Russia and Eastern Europe. But analysts warned that not everyone in banking should read that as a sign to rush into the region. “The boom in the Eastern European banking is completely overrated," said Ronny Rehn from Morgan Stanley. "Property prices have spiraled, resulting in poor asset quality. This boom has already run its course." Raiffeisen got to the region first, Rehn said. "They...
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