A would-be robber did a runner after he found a bank shut. The felon – caught by surveillance cameras wearing a “Scream” horror movie mask tried to enter a branch in Vestenthal, Lower Austria, around midday on Tuesday. He ran away as the glass door failed to open. The bank opens only at 2pm for […]
Struggling Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA) withdraws from nautical leasing operations in Southeast Europe. The bank – which is currently trying to restore its finances after being nationalised in 2009 – said around 320 leased HGAA vessels were currently operating, down from 700 in 2008. International consulting company PriceWaterhouseCoopers claimed in 2009 that 400 HGAA […]
Rumours that Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) may be nationalised are increasing after the bank warned of immense losses. ÖVAG boss Gerald Wenzel said yesterday (Thurs) the finance institute could suffer a loss of 900 million Euros this year. He added that the losses may also be higher. ÖVAG received one billion Euros of so-called state participation […]
An analyst has warned of a “high” risk of a second Greek bankruptcy. The southern European country, which is part of the Eurozone and the European Union (EU) asked the EU, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) for financial support for the first time last year to avoid state bankruptcy. […]
The international operations of the only Austrian bank which failed the most recent stress test on financial institutes in Europe have been taken over by Russia’s biggest bank. The contract between Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) and Sberbank was signed in Vienna yesterday (Thurs). ÖVAG and Sberbank agreed on a sale of Volksbank International (VBI) already in […]
The longest series of bank heists in the history of Austria could have been clarified. Police in Vienna announced yesterday (Thurs) two Macedonians were accused of being behind 24 robberies in the city as well as two bank heists in Lower Austria. A 34-year-old suspect was sentenced to nine years in jail after being arrested […]
The US website Daily FX Market News and Analysis reported today that Austria may well be the next victim of the Euro zone debt crisis. This has to do with Eastern and Central European countries having taken a good part of their debt in Swiss Francs to take advantage of Switzerland’s low interest rates. Daily […]
Bank Austria (BA) chief Willibald Cernko has pointed out the finance institute’s performance has not reached pre-crisis levels yet. Cernko announced yesterday (Thurs) BA achieved a net profit of 640 million Euros between January and June of this year, around 52 per cent more than in the first half of 2010. The businessman said BA’s […]
Austria has extradited one of Croatia’s most controversial politicians. Former Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) chairman and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader was transferred from Salzburg to a prison in Zagreb, the federal capital of Croatia, yesterday evening (Mon). Sanader was put in custody in Salzburg last December. He had been behind bars in the Austrian city […]
A Russian institute has got one step closer to acquiring the international branch of one of Austria’s biggest banks. Bosses of Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) and Moscow-based Sberbank signed a declaration of intent about a takeover of Volksbank International (VBI) yesterday (Thurs). The teams of negotiators refused to reveal an envisaged takeover price. Business newspapers claim […]