Several papers – including, in particular, the Wall Street Journal – discuss the position of Austrian banks in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) in today’s issues. These reports essentially refer to a recently published analysis by Moody’s, which, among other things, concludes that developments and indicators have varied greatly in the individual countries of the region and their banking sectors. From an Austrian perspective it is crucial to point out that of the total exposure of Austrian banks to CESEE, three-fourths are claims on EU countries in the region; also, the Austrian exposure accounts for only one-fifth of the EU-15’s total CESEE exposure. Economic growth in CESEE continues to be significantly above the EU average.
The OeNB is in close contact, on an ongoing basis, with all Austrian banks active in the region. All these systemically important banks maintain satisfactory capital and liquidity levels. The Austrian government responded to market developments by adopting a bank support package as early as in October 2008, taking account in a timely manner of the risk profile published now by analysts and rating agencies. The Austrian measures to support and stabilize the banking sector amount to a total of EUR 100 billion.