Austria’s parliament has approved the eurozone’s permanent rescue fund, clearing the way for the country’s broader participation in the 17-nation zone’s financial crisis management. The governing left-center coalition was supported by the opposition Green party to surpass the two-thirds of votes needed for approval Wednesday. Opposed were the rightist Freedom Party and the populist BZO, […]
ÖVAG and BAWAG ‘will not merge’
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FIMBAG boss Klaus Liebscher has admitted uncertainties regarding whether the state will ever again see any of its Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) participation capital. Liebscher told radio station Ö1 today (Thurs) it was impossible to make a definitive statement regarding the issue. He admitted that it was unlikely that the more than one billion Euros would […]
Sberbank set to spend 300mn
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The new owner of Volksbank International (VBI) has revealed plans to invest hundreds of millions of Euros. Sberbank – which transferred 505 million Euros for the finance institute to Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) in February – announced yesterday (Tues) it would spend 300 million Euros on the restructuring of VBI to support the planned expansion. Sberbank, […]
Koren at the ready for ÖVAG top job
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Stephan Koren has reportedly agreed to take the hot seat at Volksbank AG (ÖVAG). The ex-BAWAG PSK (BAWAG) manager has been rumoured to replace Gerald Wenzel as ÖVAG CEO for some time. Now People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter announced Koren signalised interest in the position. Fekter said yesterday (Weds) the banker was ready […]
Bank rescue dough ‘gone for good’
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The money the state poured into nationalised banks is lost, according to an economic expert. Franz Hahn of the Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) said today (Weds) that the Republic of Austria might not see the billions of Euros it had poured into Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA), Kommunalkredit and Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) ever again. […]
Oberbank keeps regional focus
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Franz Gasselsberger has ruled out an engagement of Oberbank in Eastern Europe (EE). The Linz-based finance institute runs some branches in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary but concentrates on activities in Austria and Germany. Now its CEO said the plan was to continue “to grow in an organic way”. Gasselsberger told the Kurier: “We […]
ÖVAG losses soar
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Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) suffered losses of more than 1.3 billion Euros last year. Bank officials announced yesterday (Thurs) that the Viennese finance institute sustained a loss of 1.34 billion Euros in 2011. The news means that the Republic of Austria is robbed of its chances to demand the one billion Euros of participation capital back […]
Finance sector salary increase sealed
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Financial sector staff will get more from next month, it has been announced. Negotiators agreed about an income increase of 3.47 per cent on average yesterday (Thurs). The decision came after clerks were given the all-clear by the Federal Trade Union (ÖGB) to down tools in an attempted pressure increase. They initially called for a […]
BA boss ‘proud’ despite profit drop
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Bank Austria (BA) chief Willibald Cernko has admitted being “proud” of how his finance institute performed in the past years. The banker pointed out that BA was the only leading Austrian bank which did not sustain annual losses since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. The bankruptcy of the US investment bank kicked off […]
Ditz optimistic about sales
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Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA) supervisory board head Johannes Ditz has said he is confident that the bank will manage to sell two affiliates. The former Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) economy minister said today (Thurs) HGAA managed to “get rid of all possible risk factors” which could endanger a sale of its Austrian and Italian […]