Vienna International Professional Services Industry News

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

Meinl Bank in the Red

Meinl Bank surprisingly presented results on Thursday. The institute slid into the red, while the Group was able to reduce losses.

July 15, 2011

Erste Group Provided Financing for Hospital in Warsaw

The € 32m acquisition financing is the first private hospital financing in CEE of that size which has been closed by Erste Group and also a first in Poland for the bank.

July 15, 2011

Former Cheuvreux Duo Berger and Reisenberger to Work for Wiener Privatbank

Former Cheuvreux analysts Alfred Reisenberger and Eduard Berger join Wiener Privatbank as of August 1.

July 15, 2011

VBAG and Sberbank Agree on Sale of VBI

After several months of negotiations the two banks have agreed on the main conditions of the sale of Volksbank International. The deal will be closed by the end of this year.

July 15, 2011

Volksbanken Group Speeds Up Sale of VBI

In the face of the looming negative result of the stress test, the Austrian bank is trying to conclude negotiations with Russian Sberbank.

July 13, 2011

German LBBW Starts Sale of Property Portfolio – conwert Interested

An acquisition of the real estate portfolio is not affordable for the Austrian group. However, it might enter a partnership and take over the asset management.

July 13, 2011

Slow Recovery in Banks’ Lending Activity

Corporate loans recovered faster than loans to private households. Interest rates have increased only slightly since April 2010.

July 11, 2011

Austrian Banks React to ECB’s Interest Rate Decision

The Austria banks quickly passed on the interest rate hike to their customers. Christoph Leitl regards the decision as an impediment for budgetary consolidation.

July 8, 2011

European Stress Test Results to Be Published on July 15

The test performance of 91 participating banks will be available next week. According to Moody’s, Austrian Volksbanken AG is at risk of failing the test.

July 8, 2011

OTP Bank Shows Interest in Volksbank International

The Austrian Volksbanken AG found a second potential buyer for its Eastern European subsidiary. The Hungarian OTP bank wants to expand into the markets where VBI has a presence.

July 7, 2011

S Immo Increases the Occupancy Rate of its Hungarian Portfolio

The Austrian real estate company’s Hungarian subsidiary leased out nearly 4,000 m² in the heart of Budapest. The vacancy rate was reduced to below 9%.

July 7, 2011

CEO Volker Riebel Leaves conwert

The Austrian real estate company announced a new management structure: CEO Riebel leaves; the managing board will consist of two directors.

July 6, 2011

Sale of VBI to Be Signed in July

The Austrian Volksbanken Group and Sberbank have come close to an agreement on the sale of the Eastern European bank. The transaction price will be € 700m.

July 5, 2011

VIG Interested in Acquisition of Polish Warta Insurance

The Austrian insurance company might strengthen its position in the Polish market with the acquisition of a local company.

July 4, 2011

RBI Hit by Bankruptcy of Saudi Arabian Company

The Austrian bank has problems with its credit business in Saudi Arabia. “An amount in the low hundreds of millions” is at risk.

July 4, 2011

Successful Start for RBI’s Direct Bank Zuno in Slovakia

18,000 Slovak customers have deposited a total amount of € 125m in the first six months since the bank entered the market in December 2010.

June 30, 2011

RBI: Acquisition of Polbank Stake Advancing

The Austrian bank has received anti-trust approval of the deal. Closing and operational merger are expected in Q4/2011 or Q1/2012.

June 30, 2011

RLB OÖ to Sell Its Stake in Polytec

The Upper Austrian regional bank will sell its shares in the component supplier for approximately € 34m.

June 29, 2011

Volksbanken Group to Sell Stake in RZB

Österreichische Volksbanken-AG Group (VBAG) will sell its shares in Raiffeisen Zentralbank for almost € 500m. The redemption of state capital and the sale of VBI have been delayed.

June 28, 2011

Uniqa Sold Stake in Romanian Company

The Austrian insurance group sold its 27% holding in Astra for € 25m to the Nova Group.

June 27, 2011

Profit Situation of Austrian Banks Improved Significantly

The banks recorded a positive development in the first quarter. However, net profits of the full year will fall as a result of the newly introduced bank tax.

June 27, 2011

Erste Group: Delayed Redemption of State Capital

The Austrian bank will not repay the € 1.2bn of participation capital before the end of the month, probably due to the ongoing stress test.

June 24, 2011

International Business Important for Austrian Insurers

The Austrian insurance companies recorded moderate growth in the first quarter of the year. More than 50% of their premium income comes from their international business.

June 21, 2011

Austrian Financial Sector Stable – Remaining Challenges in Particular Business Segments

Stress test results show Austria’s banks to be more resistant to risks than in 2010 – Boosting equity remains on the agenda nevertheless.

June 21, 2011

conwert Interested in Billion-Euro Deal with LBBW

The Austrian real estate company is looking for partners to purchase the residential property portfolio of the German bank. Industry experts see a realistic chance for an acquisition.

June 20, 2011

CA Immo: Uniform Brand Appearance also in Germany

In the future, the Austrian real estate group’s German subsidiary Vivico Real Estate GmbH will operate under the brand "CA Immo".

June 20, 2011

Hypo Group: End of the First Round in the Bidding Process

Today, Friday, was the closing date for the submission of tenders for Hypo Group’s Austrian business. The sale process is expected to take several months.

June 17, 2011

Atrium and Meinl Bank Agree to Stop All Legal Proceedings

The American-Israeli real estate fund and the Austrian bank reached a settlement agreement on the dismissal of all claims between them.

June 17, 2011

Immofinanz Acquires Romanian Property Developer

The Austrian real estate company buys the remaining stake for € 42.43m in order to become sole shareholder of Bucharest-based Adama.

June 16, 2011

Raiffeisen Expanding Its M&A Business in Russia

The Austrian bank group is planning a joint venture between RBI and RIAG in order to put the investment banking in Moscow on a new footing.

June 16, 2011

Bawag-CEO: “No Exit of Cerberus in 2012”

After five years, a sale of the Austrian bank would become possible next year. The shoe retailer Stiefelkönig will be sold this summer.

June 15, 2011

Stagnating Level of New Bank Lending

Loan development in the first quarter: increase in long-term lending, but decline in total corporate lending volume.

June 10, 2011

Immofinanz Acquires Office Property in Warsaw

The Austrian real estate company already held 51% of the property and is now becoming the sole shareholder. The transaction includes the sale of another object to a project partner.

June 10, 2011

Immofinanz Sells Funds for € 137m

The Austrian real estate group decided to sell its financial investments as it is focusing on its core business. 18 funds worth € 160m are still held by the company.

June 8, 2011

RBI Could Raise More Than € 3bn

The Austrian bank prepares for issuing up to 97.75 million new shares. The company has not yet set a timetable for redemption of capital injected by the state.

June 8, 2011

Stable PIGS-Exposure of Austrian Banks

The last quarter of 2010 has brought only minor changes in the total amount of lending to the four countries in southern Europe by Austrian banks.

June 6, 2011

Raiffeisen Not Interested in Hypo

The Austrian bank group is currently expanding in Poland but it is not going to bid for Hypo Alpe Adria as an acquisition “would not make sense”.

June 6, 2011

Standard & Poor's Confirm 'A' Rating for Uniqa Group

The Austrian insurance group’s rating was confirmed. Free float will be raised to 49% in the course of a capital increase.

June 3, 2011

Charges against Former Board Members of BayernLB

Accusations relating to the acquisition of the Austrian Hypo Group: breach of duty, embezzlement of bank funds.

June 3, 2011

UniCredit and Raiffeisen Seek to Broker Bulgaria's EVN Stake Sale

Bulgaria is going to sell its minority stake in an electricity distributor operated by the Austrian energy company.

June 3, 2011

CA Immo Starts Work on Shopping Center in Frankfurt

The Austrian real estate group and its joint venture partner invest € 360m into the project. The opening will take place in fall 2013.

June 1, 2011

Hypo Alpe Adria to Sell its Italian Subsidiary

The Carinthian bank intends to divest its operations in the neighboring country. The subsidiary achieved a profit of € 10.82m in 2010.

June 1, 2011

Immofinanz Sells Office and Retail Property in Vienna

The Austrian real estate group sold a property located at Simmeringer Hauptstraße in Vienna to HIH Global Invest GmbH for € 29.2m.

May 30, 2011

Sberbank Targeting RBI

The Russian bank intends to expand its business to Kazakhstan and the Baltic countries. Both companies denied speculations about a potential capital injection.

May 30, 2011

Warimpex: First-Quarter Loss Widens

The Austrian real estate company’s loss increased from € -0.7m to € -3.0m in the first quarter of 2011. EBIT fell from € 2.9m to € -0.3m.

May 27, 2011

Uniqa Records Premium Growth in All Regions and Segments

The Austrian insurance group increased its IFRS premiums written by 3.0% to € 1.8bn in the first quarter of 2011. The group profit grew by 17.2% to € 27m.

May 25, 2011

Fitch Upgrades Individual Ratings of Austrian Banks

The “A” rating of the big Austrian banks has been confirmed. The individual rating of Erste, RBI and Bank Austria was upgraded.

May 25, 2011

CA Immo: Initial Consolidation of Europolis Prompts Sharp Rise in Earnings

The figures for the first quarter of 2011 show a strong rise in earnings following the inclusion of Europolis into the consolidated accounts of the Austrian real estate group.

May 25, 2011

CA Immo Sold Two Shopping Centers in the Czech Republic

The Austrian real estate group and a Czech investor agreed on the sale of two malls for an amount of € 96m.

May 24, 2011

Cheuvreux Closing Its Office in Vienna

The French investment bank is closing down its office in Vienna after three years. This has been confirmed by analyst Alfred Reisenberger.

May 20, 2011