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Banking Industry
EBRD: Eastern Europe “Stuck in Transition“
The European Bank for Restructuring and Development (EBRD) warned that Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Sovjet Union could remain “stuck in transition”, which is the titel of the current report.
November 21, 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
Slovenia: Share of NPLs Increasing Dangerously
The share of non-performing loans (NPL) in the Slovenian banking sector has increased to 17.4 percent. Losses of the country’s financial institutes are significantly worse on a year-on-year comparison.
November 21, 2013
Czech National Bank Not Intending Further Forex Interventions
According to Miroslav Singer, governor of the Czech National Bank, the authority is not planning on taking further measures at the forex market to weaken the Czech Crown (CZK).
November 21, 2013
RBI: Fresh Money for Slovenian Subsidiary
Raiffeisen Bank International, the third biggest lender in CESEE, injects € 10m into the Slovenian subsidiary.
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
Hypo Group: Investors Claim Refunds
A group of aggrieved investors in Hypo Group Alpe Adria files claims for damages. These so-called small investors provided amounts from € 30,000 to € 300,000 and feel disadvantaged compared to bigger investors.
November 20, 2013
Raiffeisen Bank International: Sale of Hungarian Affiliate No Taboo Anymore
As reported by Vindobona, Vienna-listed RBI is examining offers for the Hungarian subsidiary. For RBI, Hungary is the biggest loss-maker.
November 20, 2013
PKO to Take over Nordea Bank Polska
The biggest Polish Bank PKO Bank Polski will submit an offer to the minority shareholder of Nordea Bank Polska
November 19, 2013
Capital Shortfall at European Banks
According to Boston Consulting Group, European Banks still have much work to do.
November 19, 2013
Romania: Banks Keep Risk Margins Unchanged
In spite of the recent cut in the key rate to an all-time low of four percent the financial institutes will not loosen risk policies.
November 19, 2013
RBI Examines Sale Offers in Hungary
Apart from the withdrawal from Ukraine, Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) considers an exit from Hungary.
November 19, 2013
Erste Bank Named Best Private Bank
The Banker and PWM named the Austrian bank “Best Private Bank”.
November 19, 2013
OECD: Restructuring of Banks Required
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calls for a fast progress in the establishing of a banking union in the Eurozone and restructuring of the banking sector to boost economic growth.
November 19, 2013
Nowotny: Must Avoid Bubble in CESEE
In order to avoid another asset bubble like in 2008, loan growth has to be monitored, governor of Austrian National Bank Ewald Nowotny says.
November 19, 2013
„Not Enough Bank Insolvencies“
Andrea Enria, head of the European Banking Authority (EBA), claims that the banking landscape did not change sufficiently.
November 18, 2013
Austrian Banking Sector: Austerity Ahead
In order to comply with the regulatory capital framework, Austrian banks cut costs radically
November 18, 2013
Hungary: NPLs at Record High
The number of NPLs has reached a new record high, according to MNB.
November 18, 2013
RBI: Sale of Raiffeisen Bank Aval Not Fixed
In light of current media reports Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) is clarifying its position in relation to coverage about its intention to sell certain operations.
November 18, 2013
RBI Approves Participation in Bad Bank for Hypo
CEO of RBI Sevelda expects Austrian government to set a time limit for bank levies until the end of 2016.
November 18, 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
RBI Considers Leaving Ukraine
The second-biggest lender in the CESEE region, Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, confirms the intention to sell the Ukrainian affiliate Aval.
November 17, 2013
Banking Union: No Progress
The EU countries could not agree on a common bank resolution mechanism yet. Once more, the pressure on Berlin is growing.
November 16, 2013
Bulgaria: Fiscal Plans “Too Ambitious”
According to the IMF, the underlying assumptions of Bulgaria´s government are not realistic. The banking industry is stable, though.
November 16, 2013
“Bank Aid for Hypo Group Is too Late“
The Austrian economist Franz Hahn argues that capital injections into Hypo Group Alpe Adria are ineffective.
November 16, 2013
VBAG: Capital Requirement up to € 1.0bn
The partially nationalized Austrian bank needs further capital injections next year.
November 16, 2013
EU Commission Criticizes Austria Once More
The EU Commission has again criticized Austria and Luxembourg and demands the countries to stop blocking the extensive exchange of tax data.
November 15, 2013
Poland: Improvements at Banking Sector Not Expected
Next year’s results in the banking sector are not expected to exceed the ones in 2013.
November 15, 2013
Slovenian Government Wins Vote of Confidence
As expected, on Friday the Slovenian center-left government of Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek has won a vote of confidence.
November 15, 2013
Hypo Bad Bank Not to be Established Before 2014
Insiders do not expect the downsizing unit for state-owned Hypo Group Alpe Adria to be established before 2014.
November 15, 2013
Romania: Fitch Rating for Three Banks Affirmed
Fitch has affirmed the ratings for three Romanian banks and forecasts a stable outlook.
November 14, 2013
Austria: Fekter Indicates Resignation
Even before the general elections in September rumors were circling around about Finance Minister Maria Fekter’s withdawal from her position.
November 14, 2013
Austria: Bad Bank For Hypo As Good As Guaranteed.
Chancellor Faymann and Deputy Chancellor Spindelegger are in favor of creating a bad bank for Hypo Group.
November 14, 2013
EU Commission: Slovenia Makes “Key Progress”
Slovenia is among 16 EU member states that require comprehensive assessment of macroeconomic imbalances. According to a report published by the EU Commission, the small country shows significant improvement.
November 14, 2013
Slovenia Creates Major Bad Bank
In order to reduce the burden on the banking sector, Slovenia´s government wants to shift risky assets to a special purpose vehicle.
November 13, 2013
Austerity Cuts at Sberbank
Russian Sberbank aims to become more efficient. The management cuts about a tenth of the jobs.
November 13, 2013
ECB Still Has Further Tools
In spite of the most recent cut of the key rate by the European Central Bank (ECB) there is still some leeway downward. However, measures will affect the exchange rate of the common currency.
November 13, 2013
BayernLB: “Hypo Not Willing to Pay“
Because of the legal dispute with Austrian problem bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria, former German parent company BayernLB announced not to increase its risk provision.
November 13, 2013
Czech Republic: CNB Concerned about Private Households
In regard to the most recent forex intervention, the Czech National Bank (CNB) has expressed concern about private households, which would be affected for a longer period since savings as well as income will drop.
November 13, 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
Austria: Bawag to Pay Off Further State Capital
Today CEO Byron Haynes announced that Bawag will pay back a further tranche of the bank state aid injected in 2009.
November 13, 2013
Austria: Downsizing Options for Hypo Group under Discussion
In the discussion about establishing a downsizing unit for ailing bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria, several possibilities are taken into account.
November 12, 2013
Czech President Sceptical about CNB’s Forex Intervention
Czech President Zeman expressed his reservations about the Central Bank’s latest forex interventions.
November 12, 2013
Bank Austria: Results Slightly above Expectations
Results for the first nine months of 2013: BankAustria posts net profit of over EUR 1 billion for the first nine months.
November 12, 2013
Austria: Nowotny Rejects Mood of Opposition against ECB
Ewald Nowotny, governor of OeNB, rejects the idea of having been part of a protest group against the European Central Bank’s (ECB) most recent monetary measures by cutting the key rate to an all-time low.
November 12, 2013
Poland: Favorable Economic Outlook
According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Polish economy will see an upswing next year.
November 12, 2013
UniCredit: Net Income Driven By CESEE
Italian UniCredit Group´s quarterly net income was down by 40%. Losses in Italy could be more than offset by the results in Poland and Bank Austria´s contributions.
November 11, 2013
Austria: Hypo Group Reason for Major Budget Gap
The ailing bank is a major cause for the massive Austrian budget deficit increase. According to reports, up to € 1.3bn will be required even this year.
November 11, 2013