VIENNA, March 24. /TASS/. The activities of the banking group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) in Russia do not contradict the requirements of the EU and the Austrian authorities, Austria’s Der Standard daily wrote on Friday, citing a bank representative.

"RBI strictly observes all existing requirements of the legislation of Austria and the EU, which acknowledge the territorial, political and economic integrity of Ukraine," the bank said.

The group has no operations in Crimea, the Donetsk People’s Republic or the Lugansk People’s Republic either directly or through subsidiaries, RBI’s representative added.

Earlier, Reuters said that the European Central Bank (ECB) was putting pressure on RBI in a move to stop its business in Russia. The agency links it with a visit by an unnamed high-ranked American official to Vienna in February. The US’ representative expressed concern then that the banking group continued business activities in Russia.

Raiffeisen Bank, a subsidiary of one of the largest Austrian banking groups Raiffeisen Bank International AG, has been operating in Russia since 1996. Raiffeisen Bank is the tenth-biggest lender in terms of assets among Russian credit organizations.