The European Central Bank has pressed RBI to unwind its highly profitable Russian business, people have told Reuters, and the Austrian bank says it has been working on a solution. "The group will continue to progress potential transactions which would result in the sale or spin-off of Raiffeisenbank Russia," RBI said as it released better-than-expected earnings. In Russia, profit after tax was 301 million euros ($332 million), up from 96 million euros a year earlier. Overall, the Russia business generated more than 40% of RBI's in the quarter. Reuters GraphicsThe Austrian bank has operated in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union and is Russia's 10th-largest bank by assets.

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