Austrian Banks Perform Well in Eastern Europe

CommentOpinion ♦ Published: June 11, 2012; 16:17 ♦ (Vindobona)

The Austrian banks did not overreach themselves in Eastern Europe, the economist Bernhard Felderer says. By contrast, UniCredit, RBI and Erste Group are highly profitable.

Austrian Banks Perform Well in Eastern Europe / Picture: © IHS Vienna

Bernhard Felderer, the former director of the Austrian Institute of Advanced Studies (IHS) and the current chairman of the public-debt council, defends the expansion of Austrian banks in the CESEE region.

The Austrian big banks Erste Group, RBI (Raiffeisen Bank International) and Bank Austria were downgraded a few days ago by the U.S. rating agency Moody´s. The rating agency…