Raiffeisen Bank International AG said Jan. 24 that its shareholders approved the merger with Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG "by a clear majority," and also approved an associated capital increase.

RBI said its share capital will increase by about €109.7 million to approximately €1.00 billion, through the issuance of 35,960,583 new no-par-value common shares.

"The merger of RZB and RBI eliminates the minority deduction from capital and leads to an immediate improvement in the common equity Tier 1 ratio of the ultimate group," said RBI CEO Karl Sevelda.

The merged company will operate under the name of Raiffeisen Bank International AG, and RBI shares will continue to be listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.