Raiffeisen Bank International's Supervisory Board approved the appointment of Michael Höllerer as the group's next Chief Executive Officer on 17 December 2025. Höllerer will take up the role effective 1 July 2026, succeeding Johann Strobl, who has chosen not to seek an extension of his contract with the Austrian banking group. The announcement, made public in a press release on 17 December, confirms a succession plan that cements leadership continuity at one of Central and Eastern Europe's most significant banking networks.
Höllerer brings direct knowledge of the Raiffeisen organisation to the role. He served as RBI's Chief Financial Officer between 2020 and 2022, giving him first-hand familiarity with the group's financial architecture, capital management and the strategic priorities that shaped RBI during a particularly demanding period for international banks operating in Eastern Europe. At the time of his appointment as CEO-designate, he was serving as chief executive of Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, one of the major regional institutions within the broader Austrian Raiffeisen cooperative banking system.
STROBL DEPARTS AFTER CHOOSING NOT TO RENEW
Johann Strobl's decision not to seek a further term as chief executive brings to a close his tenure leading RBI, a period during which the group managed the complex challenge of operating a substantial subsidiary network in Russia and Ukraine alongside its wider Central and Eastern European franchise. Strobl oversaw RBI through the strategic and regulatory pressures that intensified following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when the group's Russian subsidiary became a focal point of scrutiny from Western supervisors, investors and policymakers concerned about the flow of funds through international banking systems.
The Supervisory Board's selection of Höllerer from within the extended Raiffeisen universe — rather than recruiting externally — reflects the group's preference for institutional continuity and operational familiarity at the most senior level. His prior CFO tenure at RBI means he arrives with detailed knowledge of the group's balance sheet, risk framework and the financial dynamics of its diverse country portfolio spanning markets from Austria through Central and Eastern Europe and into Central Asia, providing a foundation that an external candidate would require years to build.
SIX-MONTH WINDOW FOR STRUCTURED TRANSITION
The July 2026 effective date gives Raiffeisen Bank International a structured six-month transition period from the announcement to the formal handover of the chief executive role. That interval will allow Höllerer to complete preparations for assuming the position while Strobl continues to oversee the group's operations through the first half of 2026, a period that will include the publication of full-year 2025 financial results and the first-quarter 2026 reporting cycle.
For investors and analysts following the bank, the key questions arising from the CEO transition will focus on strategic direction across several important areas: the future configuration of RBI's Russian business and the timeline for any further reduction in exposure, the pace of organic growth across its Central and Eastern European franchise markets, and the group's capital allocation priorities as it manages its regulatory capital requirements under current European banking standards. Höllerer will be expected to set out his own strategic priorities once he formally assumes the chief executive role in the second half of 2026.