Vienna International Banking Industry News

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

Linz Believes in Victory Over BAWAG

The capital of the province of Upper Austria filed a lawsuit against Bawag, which is held by the U.S. investment funds Cerberus.

November 2, 2011

No Nationalization of Austrian Banks

The head of the Austrian bank holding company Fimbag, Klaus Liebscher, believes that Austrian major banks do not need further capital provided by the state.

November 2, 2011

Losses for Kommunalkredit Probable

The nationalized Austrian Bank has to build major provisions. Write-offs up to € 500m are possible.

November 1, 2011

Raiffeisen: „Do Not Need State Capital“

Walter Rothensteiner, CEO of the Austrian RZB, intends not to sell shares in order to raise the equity base.

November 1, 2011

Erste Group´s CEO Wants to Avoid Further State Aid

Andreas Treichl, CEO of the Austrian major bank Erste Group, wants to prevent a further influence of the Austrian state.

October 29, 2011

Orban Attacks Austrian Banks

The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to release his country from the “debt slavery” and criticizes Austria´s reactions.

October 29, 2011

OeNB Dismisses Management of Money Printing Subsidiary

Three persons were fired for suspicion of unlawful actions. € 14m have allegedly been paid as bribe to secure a deal with Syria.

October 28, 2011

Erste Group Reports Loss of € 1.49bn for the Third Quarter

The Austrian bank took extraordinary charges leading to a net loss of € 973.0m in the first nine months of 2011 and significantly reduced CDS exposure.

October 28, 2011

Reactions of Austrian Banks to Capital Buffer Requirements

Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) needs € 1.9bn, Volksbank Group (VBAG) € 972m and Erste Group € 59m in order to comply with the EBA’s new requirements.

October 27, 2011

European Banking Authority: Austrian Banks Need € 2.9bn

Banks are required to establish a buffer such that the Core Tier 1 capital ratio reaches 9%. A major part of the capital needs is attributable to Volksbank Group.

October 27, 2011

Hypo Group Plans to Sell Austrian and Italian Subsidiary

The nationalized bank continues its downsizing program. Major parts shall be privatized again now.

October 25, 2011

Ingrid Krenn-Ditz Becomes the New Head of RBI’s PR Department

According to Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s, in November 2011 Ingrid Krenn-Ditz will take over the management of the Public Relations department.

October 24, 2011

Schaller New CEO of RLB Upper Austria

Heinrich Schaller will succeed Ludwig Scharinger as CEO of the regional Raiffeisenlandesbank. Scharinger retires, but becomes consultant for RLB.

October 24, 2011

Volksbanken Group Wants to Sell its 25% Stake in Insurer Victoria

According to Wirtschaftsblatt, which is citing well informed sources, ÖVAG Österreichische Volksbanken-AG want to separate completely from Victoria Insurance by selling its shares to the Victoria’s majority owner Ergo, the unit of German Munich Re.

October 21, 2011

Raiffeisen as Success Guarantee for the Polish State Railways Bond

Polskie Koleje Panstwowe Spólka Akcyjna (“PKP”), the Polish State Railways, rated BBB by Fitch, successfully issued its debut international transaction in the form of a Eurobond amounting to EUR 180 million, reported the Raiffeisen Bank International.

October 21, 2011

Slovak Bank Tax Is Going to Hurt Austrian Banks

On Thursday the Slovak parliament has officially approved a bank levy. The tax is one of the measures taken by the government to strengthen the Slovak budget.

October 21, 2011

Hypo Group: „Need Time, not Cash“

Gottwald Kranebitter, CEO of the Austrian nationalized Hypo Group emphasizes the independence from further state capital.

October 18, 2011

FMA Investigates Against Treichl

The Austrian Financial Market Authority has severe suspicions against Erste Group´s CEO Andreas Treichl.

October 18, 2011

Greek Haircut Would Cost Another € 350m

Austrian banks still have a substantial exposure in Greece. A haircut up to 60% seems possible. Then, another € 350m would have to be written off.

October 18, 2011

€ 4.0bn Capital Requirement for Austrian Banks

After the industrialist Hannes Androsch, also the Vice-President of the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB), Wolfgang Duchatczek, sees a need to support domestic banks.

October 17, 2011

VIG Upgraded by Raiffeisen

Current talks of bank recapitalization can in the view of Raiffeisen Research be a positive trigger for the insurance sector.

October 17, 2011

Erste Bank Hungary Opens Home Savings Bank

According to Imre Szatno. the deputy head of retail division of Erste Bank in Hungary, quoted by Budapest Business Journal, the Erste Group has launched its own home saving bank.

October 17, 2011

Do Austrian Banks Need More Capital?

Recently, the prominent Austrian industrialist Hannes Androsch expressed his concerns about the equity situation of Austrian banks. Androsch sees many challenges for the domestic bank sector.

October 15, 2011

Erste Group Increases Stake in BCR

The Austrian Erste Group further expands in the difficult Romanian market. Erste Group will hold 94% in BCR then.

October 15, 2011

Erste Group Signs Facility Agreement with Ukrainian Energy Holding

The Austrian bank extends an existing credit facility for DTEK from € 50 to € 100m with a maturity of three years.

October 14, 2011

VBAG Expects Massive Loss

The Austrian bank has to write off € 700m on the book value of its participations in Investkredit and Volksbank Romania. The state’s participation capital will not be repaid this year.

October 14, 2011

Slovakia Approved EFSF

After unsuccessful voting on Tuesday, Slovak lawmakers supported today the enlargement of the European Financial Stability Fund.

October 13, 2011

Vienna Insurance Group Has Its Own Funds to Buy the Polish Insurer Warta

Guenter Geyer, the head of the Austrian insurance company quoted by the Polish daily Gazeta Prawna confirmed the interest in an auction of the Warta Insurance and Reinsurance Company.

October 13, 2011

OeEB Grants Credit to Azerbaijani Bank

DemirBank receives $ 25m from the Austrian Development Bank, RBI and other lenders to support entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan.

October 12, 2011

Bank Austria Rethinks Expansion in Hungary

The subsidiary of Italian UniCredit reviews its activities in the country. A withdrawal is not ruled out.

October 12, 2011

„Austrian Banks Are Robust“

Ewald Nowotny, the head of the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB) as well as the Minister of Finance, Maria Fekter, appreciate the announcement of Erste Group.

October 11, 2011

Bank Austria Optimizing its Activities in Russia

Sergey Sidorov to remain CEO until year end and to support the organizational and strategic Changes. Alexander Cheporov to become Head of Equity Brokerage Operations.

October 11, 2011

Santander Close to Become a Leading Player in Poland

According to the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, Santander, the Euro zone’s top lender, made a binding offer for Polish Kredyt Bank.

October 11, 2011

UniCredit is Optimistic For ATX

Despite several uncertainties, UniCredit sees the potential of a positive long-term development for the Austrian main index ATX. The new ATX target is 2700 points for the next 12 months.

October 11, 2011

RBI: „There Is No Reason to Write Off“

After Erste Group has published its highly negative forecast for 2011, Raiffeisen Bank International came under pressure. RBI underlines that its risk is not comparable to that of Erste Group.

October 10, 2011

Surprising Write-Offs at Erste Group

Due to write-offs in Hungary and Romania, Austrian Erste Group reports a net loss of about € 920 - 970m in the first three quarters of 2011.

October 10, 2011

UniCredit: Sale of Bank Austria?

According to market rumors, the Italian bank considers to sell its Austrian subsidiary in order to strengthen its own position. Bank Austria´s CEO Cernko denies fiercely.

October 8, 2011

Kärntner Sparkasse Finalized Withdrawal from Italy

The Carinthian bank will close its operating business in Italy. The branches have been overtaken by the South Tyrolean “Südtiroler Sparkasse”.

October 8, 2011

Erste Bank to Keep State Capital Into 2012

According to Bloomberg, Erste Group Bank, Austria’s biggest lender, may not repay € 1.2bn in state aid until 2012.

October 8, 2011

RBI: Capital Injection for Hungarian Subsidiary Likely

The Austrian bank’s losses from the conversion of foreign currency loans will amount to approximately € 100m.

October 7, 2011

Androsch „Another Three to Four Billions for Hypo Group“

The former Minister of Finance, Hannes Androsch fears a loss of Austria´s AAA-rating. “We are being observed accurately.”

October 4, 2011

UniCredit and Raiffeisen to Expand in Russia

The Italian and the Austrian banking groups will take over customers of the French BNP Paribas, which leaves the Russian market.

October 4, 2011

Erste Group´s CEO: „The Situation is Serious“

Andreas Treichl, CEO of the Austrian Erste Group considers to delay the repayment of the Bank Aid.

October 1, 2011

Sergey Monin Appointed as CEO of Raiffeisenbank in Russia

He succeeds Pavel Gurin who passed away at the start of September. The appointment is subject to approval of the Russian Central Bank.

September 30, 2011

Hypo Alpe Adria Needs More Time to Build Up Capital

The Carinthian nationalized bank will not be able to meet the prescribed capital ratios by March 2012. Management and authorities are negotiating an extension of the deadline.

September 29, 2011

VBAG: No Repayment of State Aid in 2011

The Austrian bank’s low equity capital base does not allow repayment of the first € 300m tranche of state capital.

September 28, 2011

RBI Defies Hungary’s Banking Tax

The Austrian bank is not planning to pull out of Hungary. Losses from the conversion of foreign currency loans cannot be estimated yet.

September 22, 2011

No Dividends at Austrian Volksbanken AG

Österreichische Volksbanken Aktiengesellschaft – no payments on profit-related instruments for the 2011 business year.

September 21, 2011

German and Austrian Economy Claim Improvements for Company Loans

Representatives of the German and Austrian Economy fear adverse impacts for company loans from the new Basel III rules.

September 20, 2011

S&P: „Austrian Banks Undercapitalized“

The rating agency Standard & Poor´s (S&P) sees a substantial undercapitalization for Austrian banks. The recommended rist-adjusted capital quota is 8%, Austrian banks are below.

September 19, 2011