A finance institute the state rescued from ruin in 2008 is in need of more money, according to the finance minister. People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter admitted yesterday (Tues) that Kommunalkredit – which was nationalised shortly after the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers caused a global crisis – must be funded […]
Tag: Euros
State saves another bank from bankruptcy
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The Austrian government has decided to partly nationalise one of the country’s biggest banks. Negotiators – including People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter and Social Democratic (SPÖ) State Secretary Andreas Schieder – announced yesterday evening (Mon) that the state would increase the small share it was currently holding in Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) to 49 […]
AUA tickets to get more costly again
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Austrian Airlines (AUA) has decided to jack up ticket prices – only two months after the most recent increase. The struggling carrier, which suffered a loss of 65 million Euros in each of the past two years, said yesterday (Weds) its kerosene surcharge would increase as of next Tuesday (28 February). The airline explained that […]
Bank Austria (BA) CEO Willibald Cernko has warned from letting Greece go bust. Cernko said at the weekend Europe “should consider very well whether it would be a good idea to dismiss a country from the Eurozone.” The banker claimed such a move “would put the European project into question.” The BA chief warned that […]
Sberbank makes a good bargain in Austria
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Russia’s leading bank has managed to significantly lower the price it pays for the international operations group of Austria’s biggest banks. Sberbank bosses agreed with Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) managers to transfer 505 million Euros for all federal branches of Volksbank International (VBI) except its ailing Romanian department. Contracts sealing the takeover were signed in Vienna […]
VBI sale ‘sealed soon’
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Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) bosses and Sberbank chiefs will sign contracts about the planned takeover of Volksbank International (VBI) later this week, according to Austrian business papers. Reports from today (Mon) have it that the struggling Austrian bank eventually agreed with the Moscow-based finance sector giant about a takeover price for VBI. Sberbank declared interest in […]
The number of people opting for annual Wiener Linien tickets is soaring. A spokesman for the Viennese public transport agency told the Kurier newspaper today (Fri) that more than 8,000 people ordered annual passes last month. He explained that the average number of purchasers of this kind of ticket used to range around 2,000. Rising […]
AUA announces austerity package details
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Austrian Airlines (AUA) has confirmed plans to freeze staff’s wages. Speculations about which measures new AUA chief Jaan Albrecht has in mind as part of his cost reduction strategy have made the rounds for some weeks. Now a spokesman for the company disclosed that the plan was to abolish terms in contracts which guaranteed employees […]
Salzburg’s Social Democrats (SPÖ) have made their appeal for tuition fees official. The provincial branch of the SPÖ supported a draft bill created by the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) yesterday (Weds). SPÖ and ÖVP plan to finalise their concept for an appeal to the federal government coalition next week. This decision could intensify the ongoing […]
Berlakovich blocks possible cutbacks
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The pressure is increasing on People’s Party (ÖVP) Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich as he keeps refusing to reduce spending on the agricultural sector. The environment and agriculture minister claimed yesterday (Tues) subsidies on the domestic agricultural industry were ensuring farmers’ existence. He warned that cuts could ruin the Austrian agricultural sector. His appeal comes after […]