Austrian Securities Market and Stock Exchange News and Analysis

Read the latest headlines and breaking news about the Vienna International Stock Exchange and the Austrian securities market (bonds, stocks)

Austria: VIG to Sell Stakes in Porr

Listed Vienna Insurance Grop (VIG) downsizes its stake in Austrian construction company Porr, which is also listed at the Vienna Stock Exchange.

January 9, 2014

Poland: Key Interest Rate to Remain Unchanged

As expected, the key interest rate will not be changed. According to Marek Belka, governor of the Polish National Bank (NBP), there was no need in monetary interventions.

January 9, 2014

Eurozone: Further Capital Injections at Banks Expected

The Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) is holding a summit today. The low inflation rate in the Eurozone is still a dilemma for the monetary authorities.

January 9, 2014

RBI Expects Growth to Accelerate in 2014

2014 marked by growth recovery, according to RBI Research.

January 9, 2014

Raiffeisen Bank International to Raise Capital

Austrian RBI will increase capital be € 2.25bn in summer 2014. This step was already long-awaited. The shareholder structure will change substantially.

January 8, 2014

RBI: No Withdrawal from Hungary

Due to massive losses, the second-largest lender in CESEE was said to leave the difficult Hungarian market. RBI denies such reports.

January 8, 2014

Orco Property Group: Cut in Number of Board Members

Shareholders of Luxembourger real estate company Orco Property Group voted to cut the number of board members from nine to five on Monday.

January 8, 2014

Hungary: SZKB to Take over Hungarian RBI?

Hungarian Economy Minister Mihaly Varga considers it unlikely for Szecheny Commercial Bank (SZKB) to take over the Hungarian affiliate of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI).

January 8, 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

Growing Evidence for RBI’s Withdrawal from Hungary

According to media reports, Hungarian partly nationalized Szechenyi Commercial Bank has placed an offer for the take-over of RBI’s Hungarian affiliate.

January 7, 2014

European Union: Private Trading of Banks to be Restricted

The European Union intends to severly restrict risky private trading of banks.

January 7, 2014

Hungary: Erste Group Confident

The third-largest lender in CESEE underlined that the Hungarian subsidiary will not be sold. The Austrian bank is confident to reach the turnaround soon.

January 6, 2014

First Offer for RBI´s Hungarian Subsidiary

The partly nationalized Hungarian lender Szechenyi Bank is interested in the Hungarian subsidiaries of the Austrian banks Erste Group and Raiffeisen Bank International.

January 6, 2014

Austria: „El Dorado for Borrowers“

According to Bank Austria´s management board member Dieter Hengl, Austria is an oasis for borrowers. Interest rates have reached an all-time low.

January 4, 2014

European Savers in Danger

Already this year, savers in the Eurozone may fear a compulsory tax on deposits, the Danish Saxo Bank says.

January 4, 2014

Eurozone: Number of Bank Credits Keeps Declining

The financial institutes in the Eurozone have been cutting back on granting credits. The lending for both business corporations and private persons has dropped by 2.3 percent.

January 3, 2014

Hungary: MKB Bank Sells Romanian Subsidiary

As announced in a statement Hungarian MKB Bank has sold its entire stake of its Romanian subsidiary.

January 3, 2014

Slovenia: Banking Sector Still in Turmoil

Small banks in Slovenia are reasons for concern in regard to their capital shortfalls.

January 3, 2014

Massive Change in Banking Landscape

The business model of banks comes more and more under pressure. In the next years, about the half of the bank shops will be closed, banking expert Hans-Gert Penzel predicts.

January 2, 2014

Poland: WSE to Register More IPOs in 2014

Since further companies will start listing at the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) in 2014 the Polish stock will become more attractive to investors.

January 2, 2014

Czech Republic: Household Debts Increasing

Debts to banks and other financial institutes by Czech households keep on increasing, according to a report by the Czech National Bank (CNB).

January 2, 2014

Austria: Hard Times for Regional Banks

Not only large banks are under pressure. In 2014, Austrian regional banks expect enormous challenges to deal with.

December 31, 2013

Austrian Public Debt Reaches New High

The total size of public debt was never before so high. In the next years, the public debt ratio will come close to 80% of GDP.

December 30, 2013

Austria: Purchasing Power Shrinks Further

According to Generali insurance group, Austrians expect that their real income shrinks further.

December 30, 2013

Poland: Komorowski Approves Pension Reform

Poland´s President Bronislaw Komorowski has signed the nationalization act. However, he will send the law to the Constitutional Court.

December 28, 2013

Hungary: Best Economic Outlook since 2002

After the country had left the double-dip recession, the Hungarian economic sentiment index has reached the highest level in more than 11 years. Nevertheless, the country still has to manage number of fundamental risks.

December 28, 2013

Croatia Needs Major Bridge Loan

In order to cover its fiscal shortfall, the youngest EU member country takes a bridge loan in the amount of € 200m.

December 28, 2013

Austria: „Lending Becomes More Expensive”

In an interview with the Austrian daily “Presse”, CEO of Hypo Vorarlberg Michael Grahammer talks about the future lending conditions. The corporate sector faces a drastic increase in borrowing costs.

December 27, 2013

Hypo Group: Austrian Government Seems Aimless

Although the restructuring of the nationalized Austrian lender is one of the most pressing issues, the Austrian government could not present a sound concept yet.

December 27, 2013

UniCredit Sells Bad Assets to Cerberus

The majority shareholder of Austrian Bawag acquires a portfolio worth €950m.

December 27, 2013

AXA Leaves Hungary

Austrian Vienna Insurance Group takes over 100% of AXA Hungary.

December 27, 2013

Slovenia: Fresh Money for Major Banks

Bonds of BAMC (Bank Asset Management Company), Slovenia’s bad bank, will be traded on Friday for the first time. The bonds will be forwarded to the country’s biggest banks in return for their bad loans.

December 27, 2013

VBAG: Further State Aids Questionable

The governing Austrian social democrats (SPÖ) are against providing further funds to the partly nationalized banking group.

December 26, 2013

Austrian and Germans Offered Most for Bulgarian Schuldschein

Average interest rates for Bulgarian Schuldschein loan range between 3.4 to 4.6 percent. Austrian and German investors offered most of the € 290m loan.

December 23, 2013

„CESEE No Driver Yet“

Birgit Kuras, CEO of Vienna Stock Exchange, thinks that the Vienna Stock Exchange is highly influenced by the CESEE operations of listed companies.

December 23, 2013

Slovenia: PM Bratusek Confident About Tackling State Debts

Even though the country is expected to issue new state bonds next year to tackle state debts Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek suggested that Slovenia does not require loans immediately.

December 23, 2013

Austria: Bank Rescue Massive Burden for Public Finance

In total, costs of the Austrian banking package come at € 6.75bn. Expenses are only partially covered by revenues.

December 21, 2013

VBAG: Call for Further State Aids Likely

The Austrian VBAG (Volksbanken AG), top institute of the Volksbanken sector, still has a substantial capital shortfall.

December 21, 2013

CESEE: Dependence on Foreign Demand Remains Main Obstacle

In 2014, Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) faces a slight upward trend. The structural difficulties persist, however.

December 21, 2013

Rothensteiner: Austrian Sovereign Debt Rating Includes Bank Bail-Out

Unlike the rating agency Moody´s, head of RZB (Raiffeisen Zentralbank) Walter Rothensteiner thinks that the Austrian sovereign debt rating is not endangered by the nationalized banking sector.

December 20, 2013

Bulgaria Still Below Pre-Crisis Level

The World Bank predicts that Bulgaria will not reach the pre-crisis level before 2008 in terms of GDP. Regarding Bulgaria´s fiscal situation, the country performs well, though.

December 20, 2013

Austria: Slight Lending Growth

The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) rejects reports on credit shortages. In contrast to the Eurozone, Austria´s banking industry expands lending.

December 20, 2013

Austria: VBAG May Require Further State Aid

Partially nationalized VBAG is expected to post losses of more than € 200m.

December 20, 2013

Austria: Options of Bad Bank for Hypo under Examination

Finance Minister Spindelegger intends to meet with experts to discuss options of a bad bank for Hypo Group Alpe Adria.

December 20, 2013

Austrian SME Suffer from Credit Shortage

The real economy benefits only partly from the low interest rates. According to Creditreform, borrowing becomes more and more difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises.

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

Slovenia: EU Commission Approves Bank Aid

On Wednesday the European Commission has approved state aid for five Slovenian banks.

December 19, 2013

Austria: S&P Keeps Rating Unchanged

The U.S. rating agency confirms the “AA+” rating for Austrian sovereign bonds. An upgrade is unlikely in the next years.

December 19, 2013

Banking Union Completed

The Finance Ministers of the Eurozone have reached a compromise on the last pillar of the banking union. The deposit protection mechanism will come into power in 2015.

December 19, 2013

Slovenia: Growth Forecast Cut Again

The World Bank predicts a longer recession in Slovenia. The Slovenian economy will not leave the recession behind before 2015.

December 19, 2013