The supervisory board of the troubled Austrian bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria, which was nationalized a year ago to prevent its collapse, has announced that it is seeking a reduction in state guarantees on assets.
Given the improved liquidity, the supervisory board believes that state guarantees could be reduced by around 800 million euros, from an initial 1.35 billion euros. They also propose that up to 500 million euros of unblocked savings be used to support the asset portfolio to avoid its sale at prices lower than market rates. They are asking management to discuss this with state owners.
"The goal is to achieve a balanced business result in the coming year, after a difficult 2010, and to continue restructuring the group, što is in the interest of taxpayers," the statement released on Friday evening after the supervisory board meeting states. In the first half of 2010, HGAA recorded a loss of nearly half a billion euros due to asset write-offs and nearly doubled provisions for non-performing loans related to the economic crisis in the Balkans. (H)
