Czech Republic

Czech Republic Remains in Recession

The Czech economy continues to shrink. Above all, private consumption and investments are weak.

December 5, 2013

UniCredit Bank Ukraine and Ukrsotsbank to be Merged

CEE Division completes additional steps in business refocusing.

December 3, 2013

CESEE: Slight Growth Acceleration, but Uncertainties Persist

The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) has published the economic forecast for the CESEE region today. The economic performance varies substantially from country to country.

November 28, 2013

CESEE: Austrian Banks Face New Challenges

For Austrian banks, the assessment by the ECB may bring new difficulties. Non-performing loans in CESEE are said to be higher than officially known.

November 26, 2013

Czech Republic: CNB Aquires Foreign Currencies

During monetary interventions CNB has purchased foreign currencies in the amoung of CZK 200bn.

November 26, 2013

WKO: Better Framework Conditions for SMEs

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), with between 10 to 249 persons employed, are a driver of the European economy, creating jobs and contributing to economic growth. WKO calls for better framework conditions for SMEs.

November 26, 2013

Czech Demand for Housing Loans Still Grows

While demand for consumer loans was down, demand for housing loans is still on the rise. In total, loan growth decelerates.

November 23, 2013

Czech Budget Deficit Shrinks

Despite the unfavorable macro-economic develoment, the Czech Republic´s budget deficit was down slightly. This is mainly due the the better tax collection, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) reports.

November 23, 2013

Czech Republic to Bottom Out?

The economic data for the third quarter indicate that the downward trend is stopped now, governor of the CNB said. Nevertheless, the GDP data are worse than expected.

November 23, 2013

Czech Republic: CNB Facing Investigations

Czech Senator Dryml ordered the head of counter-intelligence service (BIS) Jiri Lang to initiate investigations against the Czech National Bank (CNB).

November 22, 2013

Czech Republic: Sobotka Commissioned to Form Government

Czech President Milos Zeman engages the head of the social democrats (CSSD) Bohuslav Sobotka to form a new cabinet.

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

Czech Republic Among Most Open Economies in EU

In terms of foreign trade, the Czech Republic is one of the most open economies in the European Union, the Czech Statistical Office reports.

November 20, 2013

Austria: High Tax Country

According to the new tax report of PrinceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the tax burden in Austria is ten percent higher than the average tax rate in the European Union and even beats Sweden.

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

Czech Republic: Recession Not Managed Yet

The GDP decrease is expected to reach 1.6% this year. The downward trend decelerates, however.

November 15, 2013

Success for VIG Group Companies in the Czech Republic

Martin Diviš named “Insurance Manager of the Year”.

November 14, 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

CESEE: Economic Turnaround Ahead

Ruchir Sharma, fund manager at Morgan Stanley stresses that Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe is more attractive than the BRICS countries.

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

Czech Republic: CNB to Intervene in Forex Market

After the Czech koruna (CZK) was devalued, the Czech National Bank (CNB) is keen on preventing a deflation. However, the key rate cannot be cut anymore as it is close to zero.

November 11, 2013

Czech Banking Sector Strongly Influenced by Foreign Banks

The EBRD has published the “Banking Environment Performance Survey”. Foreign parent banks exert a strong influence on their subsidiaries.

November 9, 2013

Czech National Bank Starts Currency Interventions

In order to stop the recession in the Czech Republic, CNB eases monetary policy further.

November 8, 2013

Unequal Retail Real Estate Investment Activity in CESEE

While investments in retail real estate in Bulgaria see an upturn, those in Romania have dropped immensely by more than 50 percent.

November 8, 2013

Czech Republic: Economic Outlook Improves

In its latest forecast, the Czech National Bank (CNB) has corrected the outlook on the Czech economy upward for the rest of 2013 while estimates for 2014 were slightly downgraded.

November 8, 2013

Komercni Banka Posts Lower Net income

Today, Czech Komercni Banka published the third quarter results. Lending was up by 2.9%, deposits grew by 4.8%. Net income was down by 7.75.

November 7, 2013

Banking Sector Reduces Lending

Instead of offering loans to the corporate sector, banks tend to invest in sovereign bonds. The CESEE region is particularly affected by this.

November 6, 2013

CESEE Region: Booming Exports Prevent Recession

The underlying reason for the improving economic sentiment in the CESEE region is the expanding industrial sector. However, the region remains vulnerable to foreign trade and foreign investments.

November 5, 2013

Czech Republic Crawls Out of the Recession

The recession in the Czech Republic comes to an end. Fixed investments are still the main weak point.

November 4, 2013

Czech Budget Deficit to Remain Below Approved Mark

The budget deficit in the Czech Republic increased to CZK 47.7bn in October from CZK 38.2bn in September.

November 4, 2013

Czech Growth Outlook Revised

The Czech Ministry of Finance has improved its economic forecasts.

November 1, 2013

Czech Republic: Consumer Loans Weaken

The Czech loan growth is mainly driven by housing loans. The overal loan structure is improving, the NPL level remains flat.

November 1, 2013

Slovak Banking Industry Records Growing Net Income

In the first nine months of 2013, Slovakia´s banking sector recorded a total net profit of € 449m.

November 1, 2013

Czech Unemployment Stable

In the last twelve months, the Czech labor market conditions remained almost unchanged. Employment was up slightly, unemployment was flat.

November 1, 2013

Visegrad Countries Encourage Western Balkans to Join EU

Representatives from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary support the EU accession of Western Balkan countries.

October 31, 2013

Czech Banking Industry Is “Healthy”

According to the Czech banking association (CBA), the Czech banks are well equipped with capital.

October 31, 2013

Czech Republic: Stock Exchange Reacts to Election Results

After the general elections the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) grew significantly since corporate taxes, as threatened by the policymakers, will not be introduced.

October 30, 2013

Czech Republic: Monetary Easening Not an Option for CNB

Improper exit policy could cause currency swings or inflation, according to expert.

October 29, 2013

Czech Republic Faces Political Stalemate

The Czech elections did not bring clear power relationships. The social democrats have to form a government, though.

October 28, 2013

Czech Republic: Social Democrats Ahead

Although the Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) rank first, the party is below expectations.

October 26, 2013

Czech Elections 2013: Tension Is Running High

Today, the Czech Republic holds new parliamentary elections. The Czech political landscape is expected to change fundamentally.

October 26, 2013

Czech Republic: Social Democrats to Win

Tomorrow, the Czech Republic will hold early elections. All polls are indicating a clear change in power. Bohuslav Sobotka is expected to become the next head of government.

October 25, 2013

Czech Republic: Overall Confidence Grows

According to the Czech statistial office, the increase in confidence in the Czech economy continues.

October 24, 2013

Czech Republic: Four Banks too Big to Fail

CNB has determined four domestic banks that could potentially endanger the country’s financial system in case of bankruptcy, as reported by daily “Hospodarske noviny” (HN).

October 24, 2013

Czech Economic Outlook Improves Slightly

Next year, the Czech economy will expand for the first time since 2011, economists say.

October 23, 2013

Czech Republic: Singer Nominated Central Bank Govenor of the Year

Miroslav Singer, govenor of the Czech National Bank (CNB) won the Central Bank Govenor of the Year for Emerging Europe 2013 presented by Emerging Markets Magazine.

October 23, 2013

Public Debt: CESEE Countries Below EU Average

At the end of the first half of 2013, the EU public debt quota reached 86.8% of GDP. Western Europe´s public debt level is significantly higher than in Eastern Europe.

October 23, 2013

House Searches at Strabag Subsidiary in Croatia

The corruption scandal at the Croatian Chamber of Economy affects public road authority HAC and construction companies that were commissioned, among them Austrian Strabag and Alpine.

October 22, 2013

Amazon to Open Distribution Centers in the Czech Republic

The world’s largest online retailer Amazon plans to create 10,000 jobs in the Czech Republic within the next three years.

October 22, 2013

Prague: Strong Foreign Demand for Real Estate

About a third of the buyers of Prague-based apartments are foreigners. Most buyers are Slovaks or Vietnamese.

October 21, 2013
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