Austria in the Eye of the Storm
Ending my blogging hiatus with the first sunrays engulfing Vienna, I am stupefied by the perpetual barrage of bad news from all over the world while maybe residing in the eye of the European financial storm.
As it turns out, Austrian banks appear to be the worst hit from the economic fallout in the young EU members east of here. Sobering up from a financial recolonization of regions that were last part of the Austrian empire that disintegrated in 1918, all major Austrian banks now have to come to terms with the new reality of pushing a cart laden with bad loans. Outstanding loans in Eastern Europe held by Austrian banks sum up to more than 70% of Austria's GDP of roughly €284 billion. As a comparison (in German), Austria's public debt stands at a relatively moderate 58% of GDP. The average debt ratio for Eurozone members stands at 66%.
As it turns out, Austrian banks appear to be the worst hit from the economic fallout in the young EU members east of here. Sobering up from a financial recolonization of regions that were last part of the Austrian empire that disintegrated in 1918, all major Austrian banks now have to come to terms with the new reality of pushing a cart laden with bad loans. Outstanding loans in Eastern Europe held by Austrian banks sum up to more than 70% of Austria's GDP of roughly €284 billion. As a comparison (in German), Austria's public debt stands at a relatively moderate 58% of GDP. The average debt ratio for Eurozone members stands at 66%.
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