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Austria Financial System Stability Assessment Summary

Core Content Overview

The IMF Country Report No. 20/35 provides an assessment of Austria's financial system stability, focusing on macroprudential policy, financial sector resilience, regulatory framework, and crisis management. The report is based on a Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) mission conducted in May and September 2019, and the findings were presented to the IMF Executive Board on January 24, 2020.

Main Findings and Key Vulnerabilities

1. Economic and Financial Context

• Growth: Austria has experienced strong growth, but the outlook has moderated.
• Macrofinancial Setting: The economy is in the late stages of its business cycle, with late-cycle risks building.
• CESEE Focus: Austrian banks are heavily focused on Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe (CESEE), which accounts for 42% of consolidated banking net profits and 24% of exposures.
• Real Estate Market: House prices are overvalued, with national overvaluation estimated at 10–15% and 20% in Vienna. However, built-in mitigating factors such as a regulated rental market and moderate household leverage help reduce vulnerability.

2. Financial Sector Structure

• Banking System: The banking sector is large, tiered, and complex, with almost 600 banks at the unconsolidated level.
• Ownership and Interlinkages: Ownership structures and financial interlinkages are intricate, with Raiffeisen being the largest banking segment, featuring an inverse ownership structure.
• Segments:
  • Sparkassen form a banking group (Erste Group Bank AG) and are part of an Institutional Protection Scheme (IPS).
  • Raiffeisen has a three-tiered structure, with RBI as the central institution.
  • Volksbanken have a two-tiered structure, with VB Wien as the central institution.

3. Financial System Resilience

• Bank Capital: Banks are well-capitalized, with CET1 ratios increasing from 11.6% in 2013 to 15.4% in 2018.
• Liquidity: The banking system is resilient to large withdrawals due to a strong deposit base and liquidity cooperation schemes.
• Nonperforming Loans (NPLs): NPLs have declined significantly from 8.6% in 2013 to 2.6% in 2018, with even more pronounced improvements in CESEE subsidiaries (from 14.0% to 3.2%).
• Insurance Sector: High solvency coverage, but faces low growth, low interest rates, and future profitability risks.

Challenges and Risks

1. Structural Vulnerabilities

• Interconnectedness: High financial interlinkages between institutions may amplify systemic risk.
• CESEE Exposure: Banks are exposed to cyclical risks from CESEE markets and foreign currency lending.
• Real Estate Risks: Rising vulnerabilities in the housing market, especially with overvaluation and potential for market overheating.

2. Regulatory and Supervisory Gaps

• Data Gaps: Limited data granularity on CESEE exposure and real estate and nonfinancial corporate (NFC) sectors.
• AML/CFT Framework: While significant progress has been made in aligning with FATF standards, there are concerns about the adequacy of controls on foreign branches and subsidiaries.
• Related Party Risks: Need for enhanced monitoring of related party transactions and group-wide risks.
• Cross-Border Risks: Risks from cross-border contagion and money laundering require better integration between prudential and AML supervisors.

3. Crisis Management and Resolution

• Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS): A unified, ex-ante-funded DGS was launched in 2019, improving financial safety nets.
• Resolution Framework: Recovery and resolution planning is well advanced, but the complexity of the banking system poses implementation challenges.
• MPE and SPE: The Multiple Point of Entry (MPE) resolution approach for international banks needs to be effective in containing CESEE spillover risks.
• Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM): Enhanced cooperation with home supervisors is essential for system-wide risk management.

Main Recommendations

1. Regulatory and Supervisory Improvements

• Clarify BMF's Role: Review legislation to clarify and narrow the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)’s role in Financial Market Authority (FMA) oversight.
• Strengthen Related Party Risk Framework: Establish ex-ante approval for Less Significant Institutions (LSI) investments in nonfinancial undertakings.
• Phase Out State Commissioners: Reduce the role of state commissioners in supervisory boards.
• Enhance Internal Guidelines: Improve internal guidelines for supervisory actions based on qualitative factors.
• Stress Testing: Enhance the stress testing framework to consider second-round effects, dynamic balance sheets, and contagion/spillover effects.

2. Financial Stability Analysis

• Close Data Gaps: Collect better and more granular data on real estate, NFC sectors, and CESEE exposures.
• Improve CESEE Data Coverage: Enhance the granularity and coverage of CESEE data to support supervisory actions.
• Monitor AML/CFT Risk: Revise AML/CFT risk scoring to reflect cross-border risks, increase onsite inspections, and improve non-EU/EEA information exchange.

3. Crisis Management and Safety Nets

• Purchase and Assumption: Ensure the bankruptcy regime explicitly includes purchase and assumption transactions.
• Standing Authority: Seek legislation for standing authority to implement stabilization measures and support resolution funding.
• National Contingency Plans: Include cross-border spillovers in national crisis contingency plans.
• Insurance Preparedness: Enhance insurance crisis preparedness by introducing pre-emptive recovery planning for eligible insurers.

Key Policies and Frameworks

• Macroprudential Policy: The Financial Market Stability Board (FMSB) was established in 2014, broadening the policy toolkit and activating Systemic Risk Buffer (SyRB).
• Capital Buffers: Banks are well-capitalized, and capital conservation buffers are used to manage market risks.
• Solvency II: Ensure adequate resources for Solvency II, market conduct supervision, and recovery and resolution for insurance firms.
• Cross-Border Cooperation: Strengthen information sharing and cooperation arrangements between national and European bodies.

Conclusion

The Austrian financial system is generally resilient to severe macrofinancial shocks, with a robust regulatory framework and enhanced macroprudential tools. However, challenges such as high interconnectedness, data gaps, and cross-border risks remain. The IMF encourages continued regulatory improvements, enhanced data collection, and strengthened crisis management to ensure long-term financial stability and resilience.