• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - VESCC English Catholic Mass
• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna - Cats
• Vienna - Andy Warhol
• Vienna - Laser Tag

© europics.at

19. 03. 10. - 11:00

• more Business news
• RSS Feed Business

19. 03. 10. - 11:00

BAWAG puts on brave face over 2009 losses

Bank bosses at BAWAG PSK said it had losses of 22.2 million Euros in 2009 but added this was better than the previous year which saw losses of 547.5 million Euros.

Speaking yesterday (Thurs) BAWAG chief Byron Haynes said 2010 would be a challenging year but he believed the bank would return to the black by its end since it had taken "significant" steps in the areas of profitability and performance in 2009.

He said recession and a continued weak business cycle had raised risk costs last year and put margins under pressure, but pre-tax earnings had risen from a minus 614.6 million Euros in 2008 to a positive 45.5 million Euros last year.

He added that the bank had received 550 million Euros in state assistance in 2009.

Haynes denied media reports that creditors of bankrupt US investment bank Lehman Brothers had any claim on BAWAG or that Lehman had acquired BAWAG shares before going bankrupt.

Haynes said the bank’s owner, US investment fund Cerberus, "controls 100 per cent of the bank’s shares" and added that the Austrian government had been fully informed about the bank’s ownership structure.

BAWAG must present a new business plan to the European Commission (EC) in Brussels after getting state assistance. Haynes said the new plan might be quite different from the present one.

BAWAG is Austria’s fourth largest bank.

Its former General Director Herbert Elsner, 74, has spent more than three years behind bars since his extradition from France to Austria on 13 February 2007. He has been convicted of fraud and cooking the books during his tenure at the bank.

He was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison in 2008, a sentence that does not yet have judicial force. Elsner’s eight co-defendants were also convicted but are not behind bars pending the outcomes of their appeals.

The courts have rejected 13 requests by Elsner’s lawyers Kresbach and Wolfgang Schubert for his release on medical grounds because of the danger that he might flee if released. He has a heart condition.

Elsner has been receiving treatment at the medical unit of the Josefstadt prison facility in Vienna. He had previously offered to pay bail of two million Euros in return for release from prison.

Austrian Times

Related articles: EU

1. Pecik defends TA engagement

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

2. IV demands focus on industry in crisis

   » Business 2012-05-24

   The general secretary of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) has appealed on Europe’s political leaders to strengthen the continent’s industry.

3. FW turnover takes off

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Austria’s biggest airport has managed to increase its profit.

more related articles tagged "EU"

Related articles: crisis

1. Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions

   » General News 2012-05-24

   The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

2. Pecik defends TA engagement

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

3. IV demands focus on industry in crisis

   » Business 2012-05-24

   The general secretary of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) has appealed on Europe’s political leaders to strengthen the continent’s industry.

more related articles tagged "crisis"

Turks flattened by lone asylum seeker
A furious Nigerian went on the rampage at a refuge for asylum seekers in Leibnitz, attacking several people and damaging property.

Woman bites toddler
A woman who bit a two-year-old tot during a road rage row with her mother is being quizzed by police in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

New Dany Boon comedy to be filmed in Austria
The French film star Dany Boon, one of the highest paid actors in Europe after his hit film "Welcome to the Sticks", is filming in Salzburg.

China meets Hallstatt
After a long time of speculation and anticipation the exact copy of Austrian world heritage village of Hallstatt-Dachstein in China will be unveiled, and there will be real-life Austrians present for the ceremony.

Skier in court after accident
A man from Graz is in court today accused of having inflicted negligent injury upon a five-year-old when skiing in Carinthia last year.

Two fires in Ottakring claim one life
Two fires started on Thursday evening in the Vienna district of Ottakring, one of which claimed a man’s life. Several people were evacuated as a result of the two blazes.

Cows zapped to death by lightning
Four cows were zapped to death after a lightning strike hit the barbed wire fence they were leaning on in Reith im Alpbachtal, Austria.

Wolf babies born in Schönbrunn
These cuddly Artic wolf cubs have got every right to look a bit frosty - after they emerged into the world for the first time in the middle of a 27 degree heatwave.

Cleaned Out
A Hungarian cleaning woman who stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of antique jewellery from an Austrian Countess and then sold it for "pocket money" unaware of its real value has been jailed by a court in Austria.

Great expectations for summer tourism season in Vorarlberg
The Vorarlberg tourism industry is currently riding high after a record breaking winter season, and the summer season is expected to follow that same trend.

Jobs in Austria