Vienna's Foreign and Bilateral Relations

Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, diplomacy, culture and tourism between Austria and its partners

PwC: Turbulent Years for Banks

According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) the core capital of European banks need to be increased significantly.

November 28, 2013

Poland Looking for Investors for PHN

Polish real estate group PHN (Polski Holding Nieruchomości S.A.) is searching for an investor.

November 28, 2013

EU Needs Investments for Growth

Europe will not see any substantial growth without serious investment in research and innovation.

November 28, 2013

Croatia: Milanovic Promises Economic Recovery

Prime Minister vows that Croatia's economy will be put on a sounder footing.

November 28, 2013

Hungarian Parliament Resolves 2014 Budget

Hungary´s scheduled budget deficit in 2014 comes at 2.9% of the GDP. Economists are in doubt whether the deficit will be achieved.

November 27, 2013

Serbia: Further Austerity Measures Probable

In October, Serbia´s government has resolved a drastic austerity package.

November 27, 2013

Bulgaria: More than Half of Citizens Would Not Take Out Bank Loan

According to a survey, almost 60 percent of Bulgarians would not take out a bank loan regardless of the terms.

November 27, 2013

Croatia: HNB Pushes Credits

According to reports by Reuters, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) intends to issue HRK 4bn (US-$ 707m) to support credits. Further details will be published by the Central Bank later this week.

November 27, 2013

Hungary: Monetary Policy Eases Further

Today, Hungary´s National Bank (MNB) has cut the two-week deposit rate to 3.2% from 3.4%. The government is optimistic that the monetary easing will help Hungary´s economy.

November 26, 2013

Poland: Szczurek Calls for Radical Tax Reform

Poland´s designated Minister of Finance Mateusz Szczurek wants the change the current Polish tax system fundamentally.

November 26, 2013

Czech Republic: CNB Aquires Foreign Currencies

During monetary interventions CNB has purchased foreign currencies in the amoung of CZK 200bn.

November 26, 2013

Hungary. Forex Loans Probed by Supreme Court

Due to the upcoming elections in 2014, Hungary´s government puts pressure on the Supreme Court.

November 25, 2013

ECB Does Not See Danger of Deflation

Benoit Coeure, member of ECB’s supervisory board, does not see the danger of deflation in Europe.

November 25, 2013

Serbia: Inflation Rate at Lowest Level in a Decade

The Western Balkan country is expected to reach the lowest inflation rate in ten years.

November 25, 2013

Poland: IMF Corrects Growth Forecast Upward

Growth forecasts for next year were increased by 0.3 percent by IMF.

November 25, 2013

Bulgaria: Real Estate Transaction Increase Substantially

In the third quarter, Bulgaria´s residential property real estate transactions were up by 20%.

November 23, 2013

Czech Demand for Housing Loans Still Grows

While demand for consumer loans was down, demand for housing loans is still on the rise. In total, loan growth decelerates.

November 23, 2013

Czech Budget Deficit Shrinks

Despite the unfavorable macro-economic develoment, the Czech Republic´s budget deficit was down slightly. This is mainly due the the better tax collection, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) reports.

November 23, 2013

Romania Faces Upgrade

Next year, Romanian sovereign bonds may be upgraded by Standard & Poor´s.

November 23, 2013

Czech Republic to Bottom Out?

The economic data for the third quarter indicate that the downward trend is stopped now, governor of the CNB said. Nevertheless, the GDP data are worse than expected.

November 23, 2013

Croatia: Amendmends to Cosumer Credit Law

Interest rates on housing loans pegged to Swiss Franc dropped by 30 percent.

November 22, 2013

Hungary: Further Cuts to Come

György Matolcsy, governor of the Hungarian National Bank MNB, stresses that there is room for further base rate cuts.

November 21, 2013

VIG and Bulgaria Are Causing Headache Each Other

The Austrian insurance group VIG has sold the Bulgarian pension fund to an unknown investor. Bulgaria´s government wants to reverse the sale.

November 21, 2013

Czech Republic: Sobotka Commissioned to Form Government

Czech President Milos Zeman engages the head of the social democrats (CSSD) Bohuslav Sobotka to form a new cabinet.

November 21, 2013

Szczurek Stresses Importance of Balanced Fiscal Policy

Poland´s new Minister of Finance Mateusz Szczurek underlines the importance of a fiscal stability.

November 21, 2013

EBRD: Eastern Europe “Stuck in Transition“

The European Bank for Restructuring and Development (EBRD) warned that Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Sovjet Union could remain “stuck in transition”, which is the titel of the current report.

November 21, 2013

Raiffeisen Bank International: Sale of Hungarian Affiliate No Taboo Anymore

As reported by Vindobona, Vienna-listed RBI is examining offers for the Hungarian subsidiary. For RBI, Hungary is the biggest loss-maker.

November 20, 2013

Slovak Real Estate Market: Office Segment Weakens

In the third quarter of 2013, transactions in the office market were down substantially.

November 20, 2013

Czech Republic Among Most Open Economies in EU

In terms of foreign trade, the Czech Republic is one of the most open economies in the European Union, the Czech Statistical Office reports.

November 20, 2013

PKO to Take over Nordea Bank Polska

The biggest Polish Bank PKO Bank Polski will submit an offer to the minority shareholder of Nordea Bank Polska

November 19, 2013

Romania: Banks Keep Risk Margins Unchanged

In spite of the recent cut in the key rate to an all-time low of four percent the financial institutes will not loosen risk policies.

November 19, 2013

OECD: Restructuring of Banks Required

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calls for a fast progress in the establishing of a banking union in the Eurozone and restructuring of the banking sector to boost economic growth.

November 19, 2013

„Not Enough Bank Insolvencies“

Andrea Enria, head of the European Banking Authority (EBA), claims that the banking landscape did not change sufficiently.

November 18, 2013

Hungary: NPLs at Record High

The number of NPLs has reached a new record high, according to MNB.

November 18, 2013

Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria Provided with Loan by EBRD

The European Bank for Restructuring and Development will provide Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria EAD with a new loan totaling € 15m.

November 18, 2013

Nowotny: Economic Recovery not as Strong as Expected

According to Ewald Nowotny, governor of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB), indicators point toward a slow recovery in the next quarters.

November 18, 2013

Romania: Growth Leader in the EU

In the first three quarters, Romania´s economic growth rate reached 2.7%

November 16, 2013

Bulgaria: Fiscal Plans “Too Ambitious”

According to the IMF, the underlying assumptions of Bulgaria´s government are not realistic. The banking industry is stable, though.

November 16, 2013

EU Commission Criticizes Austria Once More

The EU Commission has again criticized Austria and Luxembourg and demands the countries to stop blocking the extensive exchange of tax data.

November 15, 2013

Czech Republic: Recession Not Managed Yet

The GDP decrease is expected to reach 1.6% this year. The downward trend decelerates, however.

November 15, 2013

Poland: Economy Accelerates Visibly

In the third quarter of 2013, Poland´s GDP growth reached 1.9%. In the EU, Poland´s growth rate is only beaten by the Baltic countries.

November 15, 2013

Poland: PZU Surpasses Results in 3Q

With results increasing by almost 65 percent on a quarterly basis, Poland’s biggest insurer has exceeded all expectations.

November 15, 2013

Hungary: Level of Credit Defaults Declining Significantly

According to OTP Bank, the level of credit defaults from borrowers has started to drop to the lowest level since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis.

November 15, 2013

Poland: Improvements at Banking Sector Not Expected

Next year’s results in the banking sector are not expected to exceed the ones in 2013.

November 15, 2013

Austria: Inflation at Lowest Level in Three Years

Inflation rate in Austria decreased to 1.4 percent.

November 15, 2013

Romania: Fitch Rating for Three Banks Affirmed

Fitch has affirmed the ratings for three Romanian banks and forecasts a stable outlook.

November 14, 2013

Austria: Fekter Indicates Resignation

Even before the general elections in September rumors were circling around about Finance Minister Maria Fekter’s withdawal from her position.

November 14, 2013

Success for VIG Group Companies in the Czech Republic

Martin Diviš named “Insurance Manager of the Year”.

November 14, 2013

ECB Still Has Further Tools

In spite of the most recent cut of the key rate by the European Central Bank (ECB) there is still some leeway downward. However, measures will affect the exchange rate of the common currency.

November 13, 2013

Poland: Corporate Bankruptcies Decreasing

The number of commercial bankruptcies is declining, according to data by Coface.

November 13, 2013