Raiffeisen Bank International – the Ukraine proxy still on sale

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Yesterday, I hosted an online conference on investing in Ukraine.

300 participants signed up to learn what they can invest in NOW to get exposure to Ukraine.

Today's Weekly Dispatch highlights one Ukraine-related stock that warrants attention, but which didn't feature yesterday.

New – my thematic online events

Since earlier this year, Undervalued-Shares.com has been hosting thematic online events.

The first conference focused on "Litigation Investing". It took place in February 2026 and attracted over 300 participants from around the world. Recordings remain available.

This initial event gave me the momentum to organise "Investing in Ukraine – How to gain exposure before global capital returns".

Once the format had been established through a successful pilot, it became significantly easier to bring in high-quality speakers.

For the Ukraine event, I assembled an exceptionally strong group, covering a broad and diverse range of topics.

Normally, Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (ISIN AT0000606306, VIE:RBI) would have been on the agenda.

In fact, my plan had been to present the case myself.

However, I simply ran out of speaking slots. There were too many compelling topics and speakers to fit into a single day.

That's why I'm providing a short overview and update in today's Weekly Dispatch instead.

Straightforward exposure to the entire region

Raiffeisen Bank International (ISIN AT0000606306, VIE:RBI) is a Vienna-listed Austrian bank with a market cap of over EUR 14bn.

Some of my more active readers will already have come across the bank:

• In October 2023, 15 readers met with the bank's investor relations team during my investor trip to Budapest, gathering valuable insights when the share was trading at EUR 12.
• The following month, I published a research report for Undervalued-Shares.com Lifetime Members, at a share price of below EUR 14.
• In June 2025, I presented the stock as my top pick at the annual Weird Shit Investing conference, when it was trading at EUR 24.

Last week, the share traded as high as EUR 47 – and has also paid several euros in dividends along the way.

Raiffeisen Bank International.

What has driven this?

Over the past two years, investor interest in the bank's role as a major player across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) – spanning Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia – has increased significantly.

Gaining exposure to these markets isn't straightforward:

• Not every broker offers access to regional exchanges such as Warsaw or Prague.
• With the exception of Poland and Ukraine, most countries in the region have relatively small populations, limiting the number of investable companies.
• Many investors prefer broad regional exposure rather than single-country bets, which narrows the opportunity set further.

At the same time, Raiffeisen Bank International has long carried a number of perceived (and real) "flaws":

• Its remaining business in Russia is politically sensitive and operationally complex.
• Legal challenges related to its Russian subsidiary have added further uncertainty.
• Its co-op-based ownership structure has raised governance questions.

Undervalued-Shares.com has done the work to break these issues down and present them in a digestible format. Lifetime Members receive this analysis first; others were able to access it later, free of charge.

You can still revisit the full case in my free June 2025 article "The craziest (unknown) European banking stock".

Why revisit a year-old idea that has already nearly doubled?

Quite simply, the share price likely still has further room to rise.

And it's not difficult to see why.

Had I included Raiffeisen Bank International in yesterday's event, I would have presented the latest analyst estimates.

Instead, I'll do so here.

On 9 April 2026, UBS published the estimates shown below.

Source: UBS, 9 April 2026; multiples based on a share price of EUR 40.50 (click on image to enlarge).

Earnings are now expected to come in at just under EUR 8 per share by 2027.

In retrospect, buying the stock at EUR 14 in 2023 proved an incredible bargain. Yet even today, the stock trades on just 5.5x earnings and 0.6x book value – making it one of the cheapest bank stocks in Europe.

My thesis:

• The CEE region will continue to outgrow Western Europe, with meaningful catch-up potential still ahead.
• Raiffeisen Bank International has one of the strongest franchises in the region and is well positioned to gain market share while delivering superior growth and margins.
• Its exposure to Russia adds complexity, but as outlined previously, this likely represents free upside rather than a material risk.
• The highly fragmented CEE banking market offers further consolidation opportunities. In fact, Raiffeisen Bank International has already announced an acquisition in Croatia.

At 5.5x earnings and with a dividend yield of over 6% p.a., the valuation strikes me as a bargain.

As discussed in previous reports, a best-case outcome for the Russia exposure could unlock an additional EUR 12-20 per share in value.

Raiffeisen Bank International is also likely to become a key proxy for investors looking to benefit from Ukraine's economic recovery. Over time, it may even trade at a premium to peers rather than a discount.

Even at current levels, this stock warrants close attention.

More Ukraine ideas

The online conference on investing in Ukraine has concluded, with recordings to be released shortly.

For those looking to deepen their understanding, I recommend watching them:

• A leading political analyst discussed the situation surrounding London-listed Ferrexpo (ISIN GB00B1XH2C03, UK:FXPO), offering insights not available elsewhere – particularly relevant given Ferrexpo's current funding discussions.
• My personal favourite remains Ukrainian real estate. John Suggitt and I covered this opportunity in depth.
• Dragon Capital, Ukraine's leading brokerage firm, presented Kyivstar (ISIN BMG5331N1011, Nasdaq:KYIV) – a fast-growing digital business rather than a boring telecom operator.

And much more. Recordings will be available next week.

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