Your Raiffeisen banker probably didn’t mention they were getting a secret annual kickback from your fund investments. For years, Raiffeisen banks across Austria collected what are known as Bestandsprovisionen, ongoing commissions from fund providers that can range from 0.3% to 1% of your investment value annually. The problem? They never bothered to tell you, and that’s not just bad manners, it’s potentially illegal.
The Verein für Konsumenteninformation (VKI) has spent months negotiating with Raiffeisen’s regional arms, and the result is a rare victory for retail investors. If you purchased fund products before December 31, 2017, you can now register for a collective action that could put hundreds or even thousands of euros back in your pocket. But there’s a catch that feels quintessentially Austrian: the window slams shut on February 28, 2026, and navigating the paperwork requires the patience of someone waiting in line at the Finanzamt.
What Are Bestandsprovisionen and Why Should You Care?
Think of Bestandsprovisionen as a hidden subscription fee that fund companies pay to banks for keeping clients invested. Every year you held that Raiffeisen-recommended equity or bond fund, the bank likely collected a percentage of your assets as a "thank you" from the fund provider. Legally, banks could only keep these commissions if they provided "substantial additional services" beyond the initial sale, something that, according to the VKI, rarely happened in practice.
The Wertpapieraufsichtsgesetz (WAG) has required transparent disclosure of these payments since 1996, with stricter rules in 2007 and 2018. Yet the VKI argues that only since 2018 have banks reliably complied. For the decade-plus before that, millions of Austrian investors remained in the dark while their banks double-dipped: charging them account fees while simultaneously collecting kickbacks from fund providers.
The scale is significant. A €50,000 fund investment could generate €500 annually in undisclosed commissions. Over ten years, that’s €5,000, enough for a down payment on a Genossenschaftswohnung or a year’s worth of Klimatickets.
The Settlement: A Patchwork of Deadlines
The VKI didn’t secure a uniform nationwide agreement. Instead, they negotiated with each regional Raiffeisen association separately, creating a bureaucratic mosaic that would make any Beamter proud:
- Raiffeisen Niederösterreich-Wien & Burgenland: Register by December 31, 2025
- Raiffeisen Tirol, Vorarlberg, Salzburg, Steiermark, Oberösterreich: Register by February 28, 2026
- Oberbank AG: A separate agreement with a deadline of December 15, 2025
The negotiations with Raiffeisen Kärnten remain pending, though you can still register for the collective intervention. And crucially, this isn’t limited to current holdings. Even if you’ve sold your funds years ago, you’re still eligible, the commissions were paid annually, so each year you held the investment counts.
How to Claim: The Paperwork Gauntlet
Here’s where Austrian efficiency meets its limits. To participate, you need at least one account statement (Depotauszug) showing you owned the fund. If you want to claim for years before 2008, you’ll need statements for each year, a requirement that has many investors digging through dusty Ordner in their Kellerabteile.
The registration process itself is surprisingly straightforward, at least by Austrian standards. Visit the VKI’s dedicated portal and provide your details. The banks will then review your case and offer an "individual reimbursement amount." The VKI suggests these repayments typically range from several hundred to several thousand euros, depending on your investment volume.
But don’t expect Raiffeisen to advertise this. You’ll find no posters in their branches, no friendly emails from your account manager. The banks agreed to the settlement while maintaining they did nothing wrong, a legal paradox that lets them save face while paying out millions.
The Bigger Picture: Trust Deficit in Austrian Banking
This scandal cuts deeper than a few hundred euros. It strikes at the core of the Vertrauensdienstleistung, the trusted advisory service, that Austrian banks, particularly Raiffeisen with its cooperative heritage, claim to provide. When your local Raiffeisenberater recommended that actively managed equity fund, you probably believed it was based on your financial needs, not the commission structure.
Many investors are discovering that their supposedly independent advice was influenced by hidden incentives. The prevailing sentiment among affected clients is that this represents the most significant breach of trust in Austrian retail banking since the financial crisis. One investor who held multiple funds through Raiffeisen Salzburg for over a decade calculated potential refunds exceeding €12,000, money that could have compounded for years if properly invested.
The timing is particularly awkward for Raiffeisen. While they’re paying out these settlements, they’re simultaneously promoting their new transparent fee structures and digital advisory tools. It’s a classic Austrian move: fix the window while hoping nobody notices you were the one who broke it.
What This Means for Your Financial Strategy
If you’re currently invested in funds through any Austrian bank, now is the time to demand complete disclosure. Ask your advisor point-blank: "Do you receive Bestandsprovisionen on this product, and if so, how much?" Under current WAG provisions, they must answer truthfully.
More importantly, this settlement should prompt a broader portfolio review. Those funds you bought in 2015 because your banker said they were "top performers"? Check their actual returns net of all fees. Many Raiffeisen clients are finding that supposedly "free" advice cost them significantly more than a transparent fee-based advisor would have charged.
The VKI’s success here may also set a precedent. Other banks that sold funds before 2018, including Volksbanken and Sparkassen, could face similar actions. The consumer protection association has already hinted that this settlement is just the first domino.
Act Now or Lose Forever
The February 2026 deadline might seem distant, but Austrian bureaucracy moves at the speed of a Straßenbahn in a snowstorm. gathering statements from banks that may have merged, changed names, or archived old records takes time. And unlike your Meldezettel, there’s no grace period for missing this deadline.
Visit the VKI portal today and register. You have nothing to lose, the process is free, and the potential returns are substantial. In an era where Austrian banks are closing branches and pushing digital services, this might be the last time they voluntarily write you a check.
The question isn’t whether you should claim your money. It’s why you should trust an institution that took this long to admit, without admitting, that they owed it to you in the first place.
The reimbursement amounts can range from several hundred to several thousand euros depending on investment volume.
Bottom line: Check your old statements, register with the VKI, and treat any future "advice" from your Raiffeisenberater with the same skepticism you’d apply to a street vendor selling Würstel at the Praterstern. Your financial future deserves better than hidden fees and post-fact settlements.
