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Leaders
Faymann Calls for Sense of Proportion
Chancellor Faymann does not consider a drastic austerity package necessary.
November 25, 2013
Ukraine Leaves Path Towards EU
After the Association Agreement between the Ukraine and the European Union failed head of state Mykola Asarov stated economic reasons for the abrupt stop.
November 22, 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
Slovenia Looking for New Economy Minister
According to media reports, Prime Minister Bratusek is supposed to have shortlisted three potential candidates for the position.
November 22, 2013
Croatia: Amendmends to Cosumer Credit Law
Interest rates on housing loans pegged to Swiss Franc dropped by 30 percent.
November 22, 2013
Eurozone: Nouy New Manager of ECB’s Banking Suvervision
Daniele Nouy will become the new head of the ECB’s banking supervision.
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
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
Poland: Reshufflement at Government
A major reshufflement is currently under way at the Polish government.
November 20, 2013
Buwog Aquires Portfolio in Berlin
Buwog has once more acquired apartments at the German real estate market.
November 20, 2013
Austria: Budget Contradiction Causes Irritation
Opposition demands immediate resignation of Finance Minister Fekter.
November 20, 2013
Austria: Wifo’s Estimates More Optimistic
Wifo forecasts Austria to keep its growth advantage if “smart” consolidation measures are carried out by the government.
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
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
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
Fekter: Austrian Budget Gap Based on Unfavorable Economic Forecast
Yesterday afternoon current Finance Minister Maria Fekter and State Secretary of Finances Andreas Schieder met with the parliamentary budget committee. The opposition parties demanded answers and clarification in regard to the budget gap.
November 19, 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
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
Slovenia Issues New Eurobonds
The issuance of a new bond in the amount of € 1.5bn on Friday came as surprise as Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek has annouced earlier no such measures will be made until the beginning of the new year.
November 18, 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
Hungary: Level of Credit Defaults Declining Significantly
According to OTP Bank, the level of credit defaults from borrowers has started to drop to the lowest level since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis.
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
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
Success for VIG Group Companies in the Czech Republic
Martin Diviš named “Insurance Manager of the Year”.
November 14, 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
Austria: Budget Gap Smaller than Expected
The budget gap will, according to the latest reports, comes at an amount between € 21bn and 25bn until the year 2018. Earlier there had been talk of a shortfall amounting up to € 30bn to € 40bn.
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
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
Western Balkans Struggling with NPL
The high percentage of non-performing loans in the Western Balkan region is affecting the financial stability of the region’s countries.
November 11, 2013
Nowotny Against ECB’s Key Rate Cut
The governor of the Austrian National Bank has, according to reports, voted against the ECB’s most recent interventions.
November 11, 2013
Romanian Inflation Forecast Adjusted by NBR
The National Bank of Romania (NBR) has adjusted the inflation forecast downward for 2013 and 2014.
November 11, 2013
Interest Rate Cut: “Very Effective Property Tax“
Economists have judged the ECB’s cut in interest rate differently. According to Brezinschek, chief analyst at Raiffeisen International, savers that are not involved in speculative investments will not benefit from the latest key rate cut.
November 8, 2013
VIG: Expansion Plans in Baltic States
According to a report by “Wirtschaftsblatt”, the Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) plans to expand business activity in the Baltic States. From 2014 on, the Austrian insurance company will start conquering the Estonian insurance market.
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
Eurozone: Key Rate At Record Low
Low inflation was reason for ECB to lower key rate again by 0.25 percent.
November 7, 2013
ECB to Keep Interest Rate Low
Despite a low inflation, the European Central Bank (ECB) will keep the interest rate low. The Council of ECB has held a meeting on Thursday morning
November 7, 2013
Leitl Rejects Further Bank Taxes
Christoph Leitl, president of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO), rejects the Finance Ministry’s plan to impose further taxes on Austrian banks in order to decrease public debts.
November 6, 2013
Austria: Compulsory Levy on Assets Simply “Out of Question“
Top bankers and economists in Austria consider the compulsory levy of ten percent on household assets “out of question” and “ludicrous”.
November 5, 2013
Analysis - Vienna Stock Exchange on a “Sustainable Upward Trend”
After five downhill years, the Vienna Stock Exchange is finally seeing something like a silver lining.
October 30, 2013 · Updated: November 5, 2013; 18:00
Hypo Group: Restraining Effect on Budget Consolidation
According to the EU’s autumn prognosis, nationalized Hypo Group and its liabilities running in the billions still have a restraining effect on the Austrian budget consolidation.
November 5, 2013
Slovenia: Petition Against Real Estate Tax Initiated
On Monday, a petition against the planned real estate tax was initiated. In an attempt to reduce the massive fiscal shortfall, Slovenia is looking for new revenues. The property tax is supposed to bring about more than € 400m.
November 5, 2013
Serbia: FDI as Driver for Economy
Further decline in FDI could affect economic growth in the Western Balkan state. The Serbian government announced to push forward with amendmends to improve business environment and boost economic growth.
November 4, 2013