On 21 November 2017, Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) became the first Austrian bank to join enterprise software firm R3’s global network of more than 160 banks, financial services firms, technology companies, central banks, regulators and trade associations.

R3 offers access to “Corda” an enterprise-grade distributed ledger platform for finance and commerce, working with its members to develop PoCs and move distributed ledger applications into commercial deployment.

“By joining R3 we will be able to exchange and collaborate with peers, which will substantially boost the speed, security and usability of our own blockchain innovations. The usage of technology platforms such as ‘Corda’ allows us to gain extensive know-how in the underlying infrastructure of future commercial blockchain applications,” explains Michael Hoellerer, Plenipotentiary of RBI, who is amongst other tasks in charge of RBI Group’s digitization strategy, the bank’s motivation for joining this leading blockchain consortium.

In its work with R3, RBI will focus on cash and payment services, capital markets, digital identity, securities services and trade finance.

 

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About R3

R3 is an enterprise software firm working with over 160 network participants including, banks, financial institutions, regulators, trade associations, professional services firms and technology companies to develop on Corda, its distributed ledger platform designed specifically for businesses.
R3’s global team of over 140 professionals in nine countries is supported by over 2,000 technology, financial, and legal experts drawn from its global member base. R3 recently announced the successful completion of the first 2 of 3 tranches in a Series A fundraise valued at USD 107 million.
Corda is the outcome of over two years of intense research and development by R3 and its members and meets the highest standards of the banking industry, yet is applicable to any commercial scenario. It records, manages and executes institutions’ financial agreements in perfect synchrony with their peers, creating a world of frictionless commerce.

 

About Raiffeisen Bank International

Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. 14 markets of the region are covered by subsidiary banks. Additionally, the group comprises numerous other financial service providers, for instance in leasing, asset management or M&A.
In total, nearly 50,000 employees service 16.5 million customers through more than 2,400 business outlets, the majority thereof in CEE. RBI's shares are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The Austrian Regional Raiffeisen Banks own around 58.8 per cent of the shares, the remainder is in free float. Within the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, RBI is the central institute of the Regional Raiffeisen Banks and other affiliated credit institutions and renders important services in this function.