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Italy in Austria | Italians in Vienna | Bilateral Relations
Austria and Italy - Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, investment, diplomacy, culture and tourism
Austria: Economic Upturn Still in Standby-Mode
According to the analysis of the economic indicator of Bank Austria, there is moderate growth and hope for the first quarter in 2014.
February 17, 2014
Threat of Bankruptcy: Moody´s Cuts Hypo Group Alpe Adria´s Rating
The U.S. rating agency downgrades the rating of the Austrian nationalized lender by four notches. Moody´s referred to the uncertainty and the vague statements of the Austrian government.
February 15, 2014 · Updated: February 15, 2014; 18:47
Cernko: Wealthy to Support R&D in Austria
The CEO of Bank Austria calls upon the Austrian government to take into consideration the funding of research and development by wealthy individuals and regard this as part of their “tax duty”.
February 12, 2014
Ukraine: Tough Market for Foreign Banks
The coming two years will be challenging for foreign banks operating in Ukraine.
February 11, 2014
ECB Wants to Supervise All Banks
For the European Central Bank, the current authority does not go far enough. The ECB wants to control all 6,600 banks in the Eurozone.
February 8, 2014
Sale of Bad Assets: UniCredit Under Pressure
The parent company of Bank Austria, the Italian lender UniCredit, wants to sell its risky assets as soon as possible. Insiders report that UniCredit wants to sell its “bad bank”.
February 8, 2014 · Updated: February 8, 2014; 14:12
Hypo Group Alpe Adria: Bankruptcy Would Affect Foreign Investors
In case of an unorderly insolvency of the Austrian nationalized lender, not only Austrian creditors would have to absorb losses. The majority of the bondholders are German and Swiss investors.
February 6, 2014
OTP: Takeover of Croatian Banco Popolare Fixed
On Friday Hungarian OTP signed a deal to take over Croatian affiliate of Italian Banco Popolare.
January 31, 2014
VIG to Do Up Romanian Division
Difficulties in Romania and Italy for Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) lead to a massive decline in profits.
January 29, 2014
Austria: Debt Rate Rises Unstoppably
In the third quarter last year the Austrian public debt rate increased significantly compared to the previous quarter.
January 22, 2014
Erste to Maintain Business in Hungary
According to CEO of Erste Group’s Hungarian affiliate, the bank will remain in the country to expand business activity.
January 21, 2014
Erste Group: Moderate Economic Recovery in Eurozone
Euro area sentiment indicators point to a continuation of the moderate recovery, according to Erste Bank.
January 20, 2014
Austrian State Sues Six Banks
The Republic of Austria filed lawsuits against six lending banks of bankrupt construction enterprise Alpine.
January 17, 2014
$ 1.0trn Capital Shortfall in European Banking Sector?
According to U.S. economists, the stress tests carried out by the European Central Bank are too soft.
January 16, 2014
Bulgaria: Loan Portfolios Expected to Increase
The increase in industrial production will have a positive effect on the number of loans taken out.
January 16, 2014
Expansion Course of Austrian Banks Slowed Down
After the financial crisis cooled down the expansion course of Austrian banks in CESEE countries was dampened down.
January 16, 2014
Bank Austria Declines Selling Plans in Ukraine
CEO of Bank Austria, Gianni Franco Papa, rejects rumors about Bank Austria intending to leave the Ukraine.
January 14, 2014
CESEE: Number of NPL Declining
According to a study by Bank Austria, the number of bad loans is declining in Central and Eastern Europe.
January 14, 2014
Bank Austria Generates Fresh Capital
On Monday, January 13, UniCredit Bank Austria issued its first mortgage bond for 2014 to strengthen its capital base.
January 14, 2014
Meinl Bank: Plans of Growth in Czech Republic and UK
Meinl Bank has opened a new subsidiary in Prague. Growth plans for the core business in Central and Eastern Europe is well on its way, according to the bank’s officials.
January 7, 2014
Slovenia: Banking Sector Still in Turmoil
Small banks in Slovenia are reasons for concern in regard to their capital shortfalls.
January 3, 2014
Erste Group and Bank Austria Face Lawsuits
Two Austrian lending banks are involved both as plaintiffs and as defendants in bankrupt construction company Alpine’s court trials.
January 2, 2014
Bank Austria Considers Establishing Sub-Brand
In the next years, the Austrian subsidiary of Italian UniCredit wants to put more effort into the development of the mobile and online banking segment.
December 31, 2013
UniCredit Sells Bad Assets to Cerberus
The majority shareholder of Austrian Bawag acquires a portfolio worth €950m.
December 27, 2013
Austria: Rules for Bank Tax to Be Changed
The governing parties call for changes in the bank tax which would increase the burden of some Austrian banks.
December 20, 2013
Austria: New CEO for Hypo Group Alpe Adria
The search for a new CEO for Hypo Group has ended. On Friday the bank has found a new head of the management board since the position was vacant after Gottwald Kranebitter’s resignation this summer.
December 20, 2013
Buwog's Spin Off More Likely than IPO
Immofinanz plans on increasing the portfolio of its affiliate Buwog, which focuses on residential real estate, by acquiring a volume of 18,000 apartments in Northern Germany.
December 19, 2013
Hungary: Good News for Banks in Forex Proceedings
Banks operating in Hungary can feel relieved by the Supreme Court’s judgement.
December 16, 2013
Slovenia Pushes Forward with Privatizations
In spite of the capital shortfall of € 4.78bn of the banks in Slovenia, the bank stress test was passed by the financial institutes.
December 13, 2013
Croatia: Erste Offer Rejected
Austrian Erste Group intended to aquire Croatian HPB. However, the offer was rejected by the Finance Ministry as the purchase price was considered too low.
December 13, 2013
Slovenian Banks Exhibit Capital Gap of Almost € 5bn
The capital gap of Slovenian banks comes at a total of 4.78bn, according to the stress test published today.
December 12, 2013
Leitl: Government Plans “Complete Nonsense“
According to Christoph Leitl, President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the “great” suggestions planned by his working group are not realized by the government.
December 10, 2013
EU Demands € 55bn for Banking Union
The Finance Ministers of the European Union are still negotiating about a mechanism aimed at preventing states from having to take over financial difficulties from banks, the banking union.
December 9, 2013
Slovenia: Bank Stress Test Results Expected Earlier
According to a source within the European Union, the test results of the asset review of Slovenian banks will be published on December 12.
December 6, 2013
Poland: BGZ Bank Taken Over by BNP Paribas
Polish BGZ Bank will be taken over by French BNP Paribas for a selling price of around € 1bn.
December 5, 2013
Slovenia: National Bank Rejects Rumors
The Slovenian National Bank has reacted to the increasing number of reports on the possible result of the stress tests at eight Slovenian Banks.
December 5, 2013
Bank Austria: Massive Case of Customer Data Abuse.
Bank Austria files a lawsuit on the abuse of consumer data as Austrian magazine “News” got hold of data of around 5,000 costumers
December 4, 2013
UniCredit: Withdrawal from Hungary as Potential Option
UniCredit does not completely rule out a withdrawal from the Hungarian market in case further burdens will be imposed on banking institutes.
December 4, 2013
UniCredit Bank Ukraine and Ukrsotsbank to be Merged
CEE Division completes additional steps in business refocusing.
December 3, 2013
Bratusek: Slovenia Will Manage Bank Rescue
According to Prime Minister Bratusek, Slovenia will manage the bank rescue on its own.
December 3, 2013
Bank Austria: Sales Proceeds for Kazakh Affiliate Dropped
Sales proceeds of Bank Austria’s Kazakh affiliate ATF Bank only came at € 294m which is significantly less than announced by the bank in the first half year.
December 2, 2013
VIG: „We Will Clean Up Merciless“
Yesterday, the Austrian insurance group VIG (Vienna Insurance Group) published surprisingly bad results. In Italy and Romania, VIG has a lot of work to do.
November 28, 2013
Vienna Insurance Group: Net Income to Fall
The biggest Austrian insurance group is anticipated to post lower profits.
November 27, 2013
Austria: Cernko Favors Participation in Bad Bank
CEO of Bank Austria Willibald Cernko is in favor of Austrian banks participating in a bad bank for Hypo Group Alpe Adria.
November 21, 2013
Hungary: Banks Penalized for Lobbying
The Hungarian competition authority GVH has imposed a penalty running in the millions on domestic and foreign banks.
November 20, 2013
Albania: Governor Calls For Measures for Balanced Financial System
Financial institutes in Albania are struggling with a weak demand in credits as the country has been affected by the economic and financial crisis.
November 20, 2013
Bank Austria: Economic Recovery Continues
The Bank Austria Business Indicator provides an overview of the current economic situation in Austria.
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: UniCredit Tiriac Bank’s Profits Exceeding Expectations
On an annual comparison basis, Unicredit Tiriac Bank posted an increase of profits of 48 percent to € 48.5m since the beginning of this year exceeding all expectations.
November 13, 2013
Half of Austrians Consider the Country Stuck in Recession
According to an online survey, the Austrians are confident and not concerned by the most recent recession in the Eurozone. With a total of 87 index points consumer’s confidence remained stable in the third quarter of 2013.
November 12, 2013