Brussels

Romania: Slight Increase in FX Reserves

In December 2013 FX reserves increased slightly compared to the previous month.

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

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

CEE: Economic Sentiment Cautiously Optimistic

The economic sentiment for Eastern European countries is becoming more optimistic, however, only cautiously. Poland is on top of the list of economists at JP Morgan.

January 2, 2014

Austria: Unemployment Rate at Record High

Last year the unemployment rate in Austria recorded its highest level in 60 years.

January 2, 2014

Serbia: Moderate Economic Growth in 2013

According to the release of the Serbian Statistical Office, GDP is estimated to have grown 2.4% in 2013.

January 2, 2014

Slovenia: FDI to Remain Low in 2014

No improvement in increasing foreign direct investments in Slovenia is expected this year. The country has one of the smallest shares in inward FDI among EU member countries.

January 2, 2014

Hypo Group: „The Wrong Decisions were Made“

Johannes Ditz, former chairman of the Austrian nationalized Hypo Group Alpe Adria, thinks that the Austrian government could have avoided a massive burden for the taxpayers.

December 28, 2013

Austria: Kapsch Delivers Warning to Policy-Makers

Georg Kapsch, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), is very cautious about economic growth in Austria and warns the policy-makers of a budget consolidation on the basis of expectations of growth.

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

Serbia to Receive Pre-Accession Assistance from EU

Today the European Commission adopted the 2013 national programme for Serbia under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA).

December 23, 2013

Austria: Industrial Output Shrinks

In October the industrial production in Austria declined.

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

Slovenia: EU Commission Approves Bank Aid

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

December 19, 2013

Wifo: Sluggish Growth Because of Weak Consumption

According to Wifo’s (Austrian Institute of Economic Research) prognosis for the coming years, economic upturn in Austria will remain flat because of weak consumption.

December 19, 2013

Slovenia: Three Arrestments at NLB

According to Slovenian authorities, three persons in the bank’s environment were arrested because of alleged malpractice.

December 18, 2013

Serbia: EU Accession Talks in January Fixed

Prime Minister Dacic considers results as “historic event” for Serbia.

December 18, 2013

Banking Union: Bank Resolution as Hot Topic

The Finance Ministers of the Eurogroup countries are discussing the future of the banking union in Brussels today.

December 17, 2013

Czech Republic: Lowest Increase in Public Debts in 17 Years

According to the government’s Funding and Debt Management Strategy, public debt should exceed CZK 2,000bn by the end of 2016.

December 17, 2013

Slovenia: Bad Bank to Operate Longer than Expected

According to executive director Mannson, the collecting and selling of non-performing loans would take at least ten to fifteen years.

December 16, 2013

Austria: Opening Balance Reveals Massive Mountain of Debt

Public debts exceed the federal assets by more than double the amount, as revealed by the opening balance published by outgoing Finance Minister Maria Fekter last weekend.

December 16, 2013

Poland: Budget Bill Approved by Lower House

On Friday, the Polish lower house Sejm approved next year’s budget bill which schedules the budget deficit of PLN 47.6bn not to be exceeded.

December 16, 2013

BayernLB to Keep Hungarian MKB Unit

BayernLB’s plans to seperate from loss-making Hungarian affiliate MKB were not put on hold. Instead, the German bank wants to continue to push forward with austerity measures and cut jobs.

December 14, 2013

Positive Respond to Slovenian Bank Recapitalization Plans

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development responds positively to the results of the asset quality review of Slovenian banks and the corresponding plans of the government.

December 13, 2013

Slovenia Pushes Forward with Privatizations

In spite of the capital shortfall of € 4.78bn of the banks in Slovenia, the bank stress test was passed by the financial institutes.

December 13, 2013

Hungary: Stable Outlook Yet Still Junk Status

In spite of Matolcsy, governor of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), demanding a better rating for the country’s credibility, the major rating agencies have not raised them.

December 12, 2013

Slovenian Banks Exhibit Capital Gap of Almost € 5bn

The capital gap of Slovenian banks comes at a total of 4.78bn, according to the stress test published today.

December 12, 2013

Austria: Nowotny Reiterates Statement

Ewald Nowotny, governor of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB), reiterated his view on Hypo Group.

December 11, 2013

No Major Progresses in Banking Union

Tuesday night the Finance Ministers of the European Union have gradually approached on the outstanding issues in the handling with banks threatened by bankruptcy.

December 11, 2013

Ten Capital Market Themes for 2014 by Raiffeisenbank

Leading indicators show a recovery of global growth.

December 11, 2013

OeNB Calls on Austrian Banks to Strengthen Their Capital Base Further

Presentation of the Financial Stability Report 26 of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB).

December 11, 2013

Slovenia Still Wants to Solve Problems on Its Own

According to head of Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the highly indebted country intends to get a grip on the problems of its banking sector.

December 10, 2013

EU Demands € 55bn for Banking Union

The Finance Ministers of the European Union are still negotiating about a mechanism aimed at preventing states from having to take over financial difficulties from banks, the banking union.

December 9, 2013

Austria: Tax Increases Contemplated by Government

During the coalition negotiations increases of taxes on tobacco and alcohol is currently considered by the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the People’s Party (ÖVP).

December 9, 2013

Wifo: Austrian Economic Growth Still Sluggish

Seasonally adjusted and corrected for working day effects, GDP increased by 0.2 percent compared to the second quarter. The upturn becomes evident only in a very moderate pace.

December 9, 2013

Austria: Oppositional FPÖ Wants Return to Shilling

The largest Austrian opposition party wants to leave the Eurozone.

December 7, 2013

Austria: Slight Increase in Exports

In spite of a continuing difficult international environment domestic exports increased by 0.7 percent. According to Economy Minister Mitterlehner the Austrian exports are on a record high.

December 6, 2013

Slovenia: Bank Stress Test Results Expected Earlier

According to a source within the European Union, the test results of the asset review of Slovenian banks will be published on December 12.

December 6, 2013

Croatia Ready for Allocation of EU Funds

Croatia has been given access to 1.12 billion euros in all EU programmes.

December 6, 2013

Austria to Raise Capital of up to € 30bn

In 2014, the Austria state will raise capital in the amount of € 28bn to 30bn from international capital markets. This year around € 29bn were raised.

December 6, 2013

Moody's: ECB Rate Cut Does Little for Economic Growth

ECB rate cut to a record low 0.25% will likely do little to support economic growth, according to Moody's Analytics.

December 5, 2013

ECB: Debates about Further Measures in Monetary Policy

Today the 23 member of the European Central Bank’s Council have initiated debates about the the stance of monetary policy. The base rate, lowered to 0.25 percent last month, is expected to remain unchanged.

December 5, 2013

Bratusek: Slovenia Will Manage Bank Rescue

According to Prime Minister Bratusek, Slovenia will manage the bank rescue on its own.

December 3, 2013

Austria: Debt Quota to Increase Slightly

Because of the new EU regulations the debt quota will increase by around 2.5 percent.

December 3, 2013

Hungary: Matolcsy Demands Resignation of EU Commissioner

György Matolcsy, Governor of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), demands a better rating for Hungary and the resignation of EU Commissioner Olli Rehn.

December 2, 2013

RBI Calls for Better SME Financing in Europe and CEE

RBI CEO Karl Sevelda calls for improvement of SME financing.

November 28, 2013

PwC: Turbulent Years for Banks

According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) the core capital of European banks need to be increased significantly.

November 28, 2013

Germany Claims Key Positions at EU Banking Regulator

The German federal government claims one key position in the European banking regulator.

November 28, 2013
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