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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
One of Europe’s most influential economists has unleashed an extraordinary attack on the continent’s political elite. Hans-Werner Sinn – who heads the Institute for Economic Research (IFO) in Munich, Germany – has become one of the most outspoken critics of the European Union’s (EU) steps in reaction to the debt crisis of Eurozone members like […]
A banker found guilty of accounting fraud and embezzlement in a controversial trial plans to sue the state, it has emerged. Jürgen Stephan Mertens, a lawyer representing Helmut Elsner, announced today (Thurs) his client planned to take the Republic of Austria to court over his bad health. Elsner was released due to his fragile condition […]
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 […]
Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter has emphasised that private companies should get on board to rescue Greece. The cash-strapped Eurozone and European Union (EU) member state is seen on the brink of bankruptcy by a growing number of financial market experts. Many commentators fear the southern country will be unable to pay […]
Austrian banks have a lot to lose in debt-ridden Italy, figures released today (Tues) show. Financial market authorities announced that bank institutes based in the Alpine country invested 15.8 billion Euros in the struggling Eurozone member state which borders it in the south. They pointed out that Austrian banks’ exposure in Greece – which has […]
A banker found guilty of one of the biggest investment belly flops in the history of the country will walk free due to his fragile health, it has emerged. Judges in Vienna announced yesterday afternoon (Thurs) that Helmut Elsner was too sick to serve the remainder of his 10-year term. The 76-year-old spent the past […]