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Banking Industry
Austrian Households Control Assets worth € 471bn
Despite a declining savings rate, households remain the most important provider of capital to domestic banks.
November 3, 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
Nationalization of Banks Not Excluded Anymore
According to the Minister of Economics, Reinhold Mitterlehner, in the worst case scenario a partly nationalization of banks could take place.
October 31, 2011
Nowotny Expects Lower Growth Rates
The head of the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB) Ewald Nowotny lowers the growth estimation for the Austrian economy.
October 31, 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
Germans Are Savings Champions Followed by Austrians
Erste Group Savings Study: Germans save most (€ 180 per month), followed by Austrians (€ 168) and Britons (€ 160). In CEE, the Czechs and Slovaks (€ 90) are the tireless savers.
October 27, 2011
Majority of Austrians Opposed to EU Rescue Package
850 respondents were asked their opinion before Wednesday’s summit meeting. 71% believe that the package is disadvantageous for Austria.
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
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
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
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
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
Ranking: Austria Among the Most Non-Transparent Financial Centers Worldwide
Today, the Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) of the Tax Justice Network (TJN) has been published. 73 countries have been analyzed.
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
Level of General Financial Education in Austria “Not Satisfactory”
Latest survey shows: 4 in 10 Austrians don’t even know where to start when defining term “interest”.
September 27, 2011
Austria´s Triple A „Not Endangered“
From a global view, 18 countries have a “AAA-status”. The current debt crisis makes market observers nervous.
September 26, 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
IMF: „NPL in Eastern Europe Decreasing“
After the announcement of the Hungarian government to convert foreign currency loans at the expense of banks, the IMF has good news for Austrian banks.
September 21, 2011
No Dividends at Austrian Volksbanken AG
Österreichische Volksbanken Aktiengesellschaft – no payments on profit-related instruments for the 2011 business year.
September 21, 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
Erste Group: BCR Needs Capital Boost
The Austrian bank’s Romanian subsidiary may need additional capital due to high risk costs and the overall economic situation.
September 16, 2011
Decline in Savings Deposits Continues
Business development of Austrian banks in the first half of 2011: Balance sheet total grows; volume of demand and fixed-term deposits increases.
September 14, 2011
Erste Group Increases Stake in Romanian BCR
The Austrian bank enters into agreement with four regional investment funds to acquire a further 24.12% in its Romanian subsidiary.
September 14, 2011
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