BAWAG paga
By Zoe Schneeweiss
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Bawag PSK Bank, the Austrian bank
controlled by Cerberus Capital Management LP, said its 2009 loss
narrowed as it got higher returns on financial assets.
The Vienna-based bank posted a net loss of 22.2 million
euros ($30.3 million), compared with 547.5 million euros a year
earlier, it said in an e-mailed statement today. Bawag reported
gains on financial assets and liabilities of 138.9 million
euros, following a loss of 406.3 million euros in 2008.
Cerberus, which took over the bank in 2006, agreed last
year to put an additional 205 million euros into Bawag, while
the Austria state invested 550 million euros in return for non-
voting participation shares and guaranteed 400 million euros of
the bank’s assets for five years.
Bawag said it will pay Austria the coupon and guarantee fee
as it made a profit based on local company accounting rules,
which are applied by the country’s banking-support law.
Net interest income, the difference between money paid on
deposits and earned on loans, dropped 14 percent to 564.3
million euros, while loan-loss provisions decreased 16 percent to
236.7 million euros.
“We expect to see continued weak credit demand and high
pressure on margins for savings products in 2010 as interest
rates remain very low,” the company said in the statement.
“Thanks to its strong liquidity and capital position Bawag PSK
is financially strong and well positioned to manage ongoing
potential macroeconomic difficulties.”
For Related News and Information:
Austrian banking stories: TNI AUSTRIA BANK <GO>
Finance industry monitors: BANK <GO> and INS <GO>
Subprime lending: NI SUBPRIME <GO>
Credit crunch page: WWCC <GO>
Stories on the banking industry: NI BNK <GO>
Bailout & Rescue Programs: RESQ <GO>
--Editor: Christiane Lenzner
To contact the reporter on this story:
Zoe Schneeweiss in Vienna at +43-1-513 2660-13 or
[email protected]