Vienna International Banking Industry News

Read the latest headlines about developments in the international banking industry in Vienna and Austria

Austria: State-Owned Bank to Receive Further € 200m

The state subsidy for bad bank of Kommunalkredit has increased to more than € 2bn.

August 13, 2013

20,000 Bank Shops Have Closed Since Beginning of Crisis

60 percent of the costs in the business with private clients are caused by bank shops. Still, banks are hesitant to close them as they fear the loss of long-term clients.

August 12, 2013

Commerzbank: Austria to Miss Budget Goals

Without a new austerity package, Austria will run up more debts than calculated in the bugdet plan, German Commerzbank says. The country’s AAA ratings are likely to decrease.

August 12, 2013

Austria: Banks Indignant At Chancellor Faymann

Chancellor Werner Faymann has started the election campaign with an attack against the banks. However, CEO of Bank Austria Willibald Cernko points out that the banking industry secures 70,000 jobs in Austria.

August 9, 2013

Fitch: European Investors See Withdrawal of Bank Stimulus

More European investors now see the withdrawal of central bank stimulus as a bigger risk to European credit markets than eurozone sovereign debt problems.

August 9, 2013

Hypo: New CEO at Italian Affiliate

Marco Gariglio appointed new General Manager of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank S.p.A.

August 8, 2013

Erste Paid Back € 1.22 to Austrian State

On Thursday, Erste Group announced that the participation capital in the amount of € 1.76 was paid back completely.

August 8, 2013

Raiffeisen Bank International AG - SWOT Analysis & Company Report

This report contains in depth information and data about Raiffeisen Bank International AG and its operations and markets. It contains a company overview, business and strategy description, financial ratios, valuation & forecast data and a SWOT analysis.

August 8, 2013

UniCredit: No Withdrawal from Hungary

CEO of UniCredit Federico Ghizzoni has rejected rumors about disengagement plans from Hungary.

August 7, 2013

Hypo Group: Reason for “Budget Lie”

The situation of ailing bank Hypo Alpe Adria may be worse than assumed. The supervisory board of the bank and the taskforce are discussing about the half-yearly report.

August 7, 2013

Loan Loss Provisions Impede Higher Profits for Bank Austria

Results for the first half of 2013: Bank Austria posts net profit of EUR 566 million for the first half of 2013.

August 7, 2013

Credit Crunch in CESEE?

The capital outflow in the CESEE region accelerates. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) fears negative consequences for the real economy.

August 7, 2013

UniCredit to Focus on Poland, Turkey and Russia

UniCredit´s CEO pursues a selective growth strategy. The Austrian subsidiary recorded losses in the retail segment.

August 6, 2013

Turkey: Banking Sector Improves Profitability

In the first six months of 2013, net income of Turkey´s banking sector was up by 20%.

August 6, 2013

RBI Considers Withdrawing from Hungary

The Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International wants to focus on other markets. Hungary and Slovenia are shrinking markets, CEO Karl Sevelda says.

August 6, 2013

Arab Partner for RBI?

Karl Sevelda, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International, indicated that an Arab investor may become a shareholder.

August 5, 2013

Croatia: Foreign Currency Loans No Danger for Banks

About 8% of the loan portfolio in Croatia consists of Swiss franc loans. Banks would be able to bear losses.

August 5, 2013

Bad Bank for Hypo Group?

According to market rumors, Austria´s government wants domestic banks to participate in a bad bank for the nationalized Hypo Group. Finance Minister Maria Fekter denies such reports.

August 5, 2013

Slovenian Banking Sector: Equity Capital Base Improves

The banking system’s overall capital adequacy improved last year to 11.9% on average. The banks primarily focused on improving their core Tier 1 capital ratio, which was up 1.1 percentage points to stand at 10%.

August 3, 2013

Slovenian Real Estate Sector Shrinks

The building activity in Slovenia slackens. Moreover, transactions remain weak and new housing loans have reached a record low. A further decrease in real estate prices is rather likely.

August 3, 2013

Slovenian Banking Sector Still Under Enormous Pressure

Besides the decreasing negative net income and the high impairment losses, Slovenia´s banks register a decreasing lending activity. Deposits are going down as well.

August 2, 2013

Slovenia: Non-Performing Loans Stabilizing

The Slovenian banking industry still suffers from a high NPL quota. The NPL volume is going down slightly, however.

August 2, 2013

Moody’s to Examine Hypo Pfandbriefe

The Aa2-Rating of Pfandbriefe of Hypo Group without governmental guarantee are under observation. This is because of the insecurity of the final decision of the EU Commission about the restructuring plan.

August 1, 2013

Cyprus Is Showing Progress

According to estimates by its international creditors, Cyprus is showing progress at the reorganization of its state budget.

July 31, 2013

Slovenia Likely to Overcome Problems in Banking Sector

Slovenia’s problems in banking sector are controllable, according to experts.

July 31, 2013

Eurozone: Business Investments Decreased to 18.8 Percent

Business investment rate down to 18.8% in the euro area and to 18.3% in the EU27 Business profit share at 37.7% and at 37.2% respectively

July 31, 2013

Bulgaria: Danger of Policy Drifting

Bulgaria's fundamentals are strong but politics suggest policy drift.

July 31, 2013

Ukraine’s Banking System to Approximate EU Standards

Introduction of Basel-II regulation earlier in 2013 helped banks create more reserves.

July 31, 2013

Slovenia Lures Russian Investors

Slovenia invites Russian investors to participate in privatization plans.

July 30, 2013

47.5 Percent Compulsory Levy in Cyprus

Major investors are losing almost half of their assets.

July 30, 2013

Meager Profits for Erste Group in First Half 2013

Erste Group posts net profit of EUR 301.2 million for first half of 2013; risk costs decline

July 30, 2013

RBI Trying to Avoid Becoming “Cash Cow“ in Hungary

In an interview with “Wirtschaftsblatt“, CEO of RBI Karl Sevelda talks about further burdens in Hungary and the bank’s reaction to them, capital increase and how participation capital can be replaced.

July 29, 2013

Two Interested Parties for Hypo Alpe Adria Italia

Two investors have shown their interest for the take-over of Italian affiliate of nationalized Hypo Alpe Adria. Banca Popolare di Vicenza and a British-Indian Group are claimed of being interested.

July 29, 2013

Russia: Stronger Regulations for Market for Consumer Loans

Business with consumer credits have started comparatively late in Russia. Now, the market is supposed to be regulated further.

July 29, 2013

ECB: No Risk of Deflation in Europe

The European Central Bank (ECB), in contrast to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), does not see the danger of a general downward trend in prices with all its negative effects for the economy.

July 29, 2013

Hypo Group: Massive Losses in Italy

The Italian affiliate of Austrian problem bank Hypo Alpe Adria has notched up considerable losses.

July 25, 2013

Hypo Group: Current Capital Injection Not Enough

Klaus Liebscher, head of the supervisory board of the nationalized Austrian problem bank, thinks that the Ministry of Finance will have to inject further money.

July 23, 2013

Profitability: Austrian Banks Perform Worst

According to a current report published by A.T. Kearney, the Austrian banking industry suffers from a low profitability.

July 23, 2013

Hungary Plans New Burden for Banks

Hungarian households are still over-indebted. Prime Minister Viktor Orban aims to help them on the expense of the banking sector.

July 23, 2013

Czech Banking Industry Reduces Lending Significantly

According to a survey issued by the Czech National Bank, banks tightened their credit standards in all the monitored credit market segments in 2013 Q2.

July 22, 2013

Hypo Group Needs Even More Money

The nationalized Austrian bank needs fresh funds of more than € 700m. For the Austrian taxpayers, the banking package becomes more and more costly.

July 21, 2013

Kommunalkredit to be Liquidated

The EU Commission has approved the plans submitted by the Austrian government. The nationalized bank will need further state aids.

July 20, 2013

Moody´s Lowers Outlook of RBI

The outlook for Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, the second-biggest lender in the CESEE region, was downgraded to “negative”.

July 20, 2013

Austrian Banking Package: Major Burden for Taxpayers

In total, the banking package has caused costs of more than € 6.4bn. Austrian taxpayers must expect further costs.

July 19, 2013

Slovenia: Condition of Banking Sector Still Critical

In the first five months, the Slovenian Banking has recorded a net loss of € 117m. Lending goes down substantially.

July 18, 2013

Erdogan Attacks Banks

Turkey´s Prime Minister wants to strengthen his fight against the over-indebtedness of private Turkish households. According to Erdogan, banks are responsible for the unfavorable situation.

July 18, 2013

Does RBI Need a Partner?

The Austrian “Wiener Zeitung” reports that RBI (Raiffeisenbank International), the second-biggest lender in the CESEE region, has a capital requirement of more than € 5.0bn.

July 17, 2013

Poland: Banking Sector Faces Downward Trend

According the Poland´s National Bank NBP, the profitability of the Polish banking sector is expected to decline further.

July 17, 2013

„Austrian Banking Sector Still Weakly Capitalized“

Austrian National Bank (OeNB) criticizes that the domestic banking sector did not improve the equity base sufficiently.

July 16, 2013

Moody´s Cuts Bank Austria´s Rating

According to the U.S. rating agency, the creditworthiness of the biggest Austrian bank has worsened. The expansion program in Russia and Turkey is seen as significant risk factor.

July 16, 2013