Austria: Highest Rate of Foreign-Currency Debts

Politics ♦ Published: March 25, 2013; 13:38 ♦ (Vindobona)

No other country in Europe exhibits such a high amount of private foreign currency credit users. In 2014, when the next wave of repayments is due many debtors might be in for a shock.

Austria: Highest Rate of Foreign-Currency Debts / Picture: © Vindobona.org

Banks have been pressing debtors to reschedule their pre-existing debts for years. Yet, most of them still sick with the old debt plan mostly because there are no other attractive offers.

During the mid-1990ies, most loans were taken out in foreign currencies like the Swiss Franc and the Japanese Yen. For repayment booming equity funds or unit-linked life insuranced were…