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Austria: Moody’s Downgrades Four Bonds
Moody’s downgraded four bonds of Austrian banks on Tuesday. The outlook is negative.
February 19, 2014
Hypo-Disaster: Government Playing Hide and Seek
After the emergency sitting in the National Assembley, which was demanded by the opposition parties and took place yesterday, the Austrian government refused to answer questions to the press and the public.
February 18, 2014
Hypo Bankruptcy Could Severly Harm BayernLB
Rating agency Moody’s sees German BayernLB impacted by the critical capital situation in the coming years.
February 18, 2014
Erste: CEE Financial Market Not Concerned by Low Inflation
Low inflation will not change CEE market forecasts, according to Erste Group.
February 18, 2014
Poland: PKO BK Still Wants to Take Over Nordea
PKO BP had to extend the subscription period for the second time.
February 18, 2014
Spindelegger Positive about Creation of Financial Transaction Tax
In the run-up to the beginning of the ECOFIN Council in Brussels, negotiations about the further proceeding of the financial transaction tax were held among eleven EU finance ministers.
February 18, 2014
Poland: Strong Prospects for High Growth
Prime Minister Donald Tusk is positive Poland will achive a GDP growth of more than three percent this year.
February 18, 2014
Nowotny: Negative Interest Rate Conveys Feeling of Crisis
Ewald Nowotny, member of the Council of the ECB (European Central Bank) and governor of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB), expressed his rejection regarding a possible negative interest rate for banks.
February 18, 2014
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
Slovenia: Heading for Recovery
Slovenia seems to have circumnavigated the crisis as the small country is not a Eurozone bail-out candidate anymore, according to Prime Minister Bratusek.
February 17, 2014
Austria: Still No Clarity in Hypo Group Disaster
The Austrian parliamentary parties continue to shift the blame onto each other. Details still have not been presented yet.
February 17, 2014
Government Downplaying Effects of Hypo Group Desaster
Today, both Chancellor Werner Faymann and Finance Minister Michael Spindelegger had to explain their actions in regard to Hypo Group Alpe Adria in parliament.
February 17, 2014
Hypo Group: „Austrian Government Has Negotiated Poorly“
In the cause of the nationalized Balkan lender Hypo Group Alpe Adria, the performance of the Austrian government is miserable, according to Austrian economist Christian Keuschnigg.
February 16, 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
Hypo Group Alpe Adria: Nowotny Attacks Fekter
Governor of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) Ewald Nowotny criticizes former Minister of Finance Maria Fekter sharply and blames her for inactivity.
February 15, 2014 · Updated: February 15, 2014; 18:19
EU Puts Limit to State Aids for Hypo Group
So far, € 4.8bn in capital aids had to be injected into ailing bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria. According to an EU statement, the Austrian state is only permitted to spend € 3.65bn on Hypo Group.
February 14, 2014
Poland: PKO BP Planning to Establish Mortgage Bank
The Polish bank intends to found a mortage bank around the beginning of the year 2015.
February 14, 2014
Serbia: Key Rate Kept Untouched
The board of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) underlined the importance of a cautious monetary policy in the light of the current economic developments.
February 14, 2014
„We Were Cheated by BayernLB“
Hannes Androsch, head of the Hypo Group task force, thinks that the former Austrian government has made serious mistakes.
February 13, 2014
RBI Raises Another € 500m
After the capital increase, the Vienna-listed lender has raised capital in the amount of € 500m. The emission was significantly oversubscribed.
February 13, 2014
IHS Rejects Hypo Group’s Bankruptcy
According to Keuschnig, it is also a question about a “national bankruptcy“.
February 13, 2014
Improving Situation in Slovenia
Banka Slovenije points out that the finance industry was negatively affected by provisions and write-offs. However, the situation seems to be improving.
February 13, 2014
Austria: RBI to Pay Back State Capital in March
€ 1.75bn in state aid will be transferred around March 15 if the Financial Market Authority agrees to the repayment.
February 13, 2014
Spindelegger: “Hypo Already Burdened Budget in Past”
The government has still not yet published figures in regard to the current fiscal burden emerging from the winding-up of problem bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria.
February 13, 2014
Banks Lose Credibility and Trust
A survey reveals the fear of financial institutes enriching themselves at the expense of of private persons is widely spread.
February 12, 2014
Poland: Consumer Loans Expected to Rise Significantly
Last year consumer loans saw a 16 percent growth which leads to expecations that Poland will register a double-digit growth rate in 2014 as well.
February 12, 2014
Hypo Group: Emergency Sitting in National Assembley Fixed
An extraordinary session in the National Assembley will take place next Monday in regard to Hypo Group Alpe Adria.
February 12, 2014
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
Challenging Business Environment for Croatian Banks
Last year profits of Croatian banks declined more than 73 percent.
February 12, 2014
Hypo Group: Bad Bank Active at Least 10 Years
Austria’s rating by Standard & Poor’s (“AA+”, stable outlook) is currently not compromised. Because of the establishing of the bad bank the debt rate will rise four to six percent.
February 12, 2014
Erste Group: Net Results Below Expectations
Erste Group provides business update for 2013: Improvement in risk costs is outweighed by one-off items and tax effects, impacting net profit
February 11, 2014
Hypo-Disaster: Harsh Criticism from Opposition
The opposition parties have expressed their unanimous criticism about the government failing to come to a joint decision with the Austrian banks and consequently forwarding all costs to the taxpayers.
February 11, 2014
Ukraine: Tough Market for Foreign Banks
The coming two years will be challenging for foreign banks operating in Ukraine.
February 11, 2014
RBI: Capital Increase Successfully Completed
RBI capital increase confirms excellent environment for raising capital on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
February 11, 2014
Austria: Hypo Group Becomes Fiasco for Taxpayers
The most expensive solution for the winding up of troubled Hypo Group becomes imminent.
February 11, 2014
Bawag: Losses for Cerberus Running into Billions
There are persistent rumors that the U.S. investor may leave the Austrian bank. For Cerberus, Bawag is a disaster.
February 11, 2014
Austria: Bank Participation for Hypo Off
A participation model with Austrian banks can be ruled out for ailing Hypo Group. Instead, a more expensive version will be applied.
February 10, 2014
FMA: Hypo Group Bankruptcy Incalculable Risk
The government does not dismiss the idea of a bankruptcy of ailing Hypo Alpe Adria. However, the Financial Market Authority (FMA) has expressly warned of this form of downsizing of the state bank.
February 10, 2014
Ukraine: RBI Examines Offers
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has received a total of twelve offers for its Ukranian affiliate.
February 10, 2014
Serbia: Inflation Requires New IMF Agreement
In the light of a devaluation of the Dinar Serbia needs a new agreement with the IMF to improve funding and accelerate the realization of reforms.
February 10, 2014
Poland: Slight Drop in 2013 Banks’ Profits
Polish banks displayed a total net profit of PLN 15.43 billion in the financial year 2013, which is a slight decrease of 0.3 percent on an annual comparison basis.
February 10, 2014
Spindelegger Insists on Austrian Bank Secret
On Friday the Finance Ministry confirmed to the Austrian Press Agency (APA) that there is “momentum in the field” in regard to disclosure of information about bank accounts of foreigners.
February 10, 2014
Hypo Group Alpe Adria: The War of Nerves Has Begun
The Austrian government puts enormous pressure on the Austrian banking sector and does not exclude Hypo Group´s orderly bankruptcy anymore. The Austrian banking sector insistently warns of this option.
February 9, 2014 · Updated: February 9, 2014; 23:41
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: Extreme Burden for Austrian State Budget Ahead
The bad news about the nationalized Balkan lender do not break up. In 2014, the Austrian problem bank may cause costs in the amount of € 9bn.
February 7, 2014
FHB Bank Acquires Stake in Takarek Bank
The largest Hungarian mortgage bank becomes a core shareholder of the Hungarian savings bank Takarek Bank. Takarekbank is an umbrella bank for the Hungarian savings bank sector.
February 7, 2014
Hyp Group Alpe Adria: “No Unnecessary Bankruptcy”
Klaus Liebscher, president of Hypo Group´s supervisory board, points out that Hypo Group´s bankruptcy would involve enormous risks. The Austrian government remains conspicuously calm.
February 7, 2014
Austrian Bad Bank Received Further State Aid
The Austrian Ministry of Finance injected € 150m into KA Finanz, the bad bank of the publicly held Kommunalkredit.
February 6, 2014
“Fragile Recovery in CEE Banking Sector”
According to the U.S. rating agency Fitch, the banking sector in Central and Eastern Europe is highly heterogeneous.
February 6, 2014