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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