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According to the opposition parties, the measures would not solve the problem of high interest rates on loans and low interest rates on savings. High overdraft interest and rising credit rates are difficult to expect from the population, so the tenor. The package does not provide a real solution here. On the other hand, there were positive reactions from the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) and the Federation of Austrian Industry (IV).
“The banks have worked out a package together with the federal government that will help borrowers when and where it is really necessary,” said the Secretary General of the WKÖ Karlheinz head in a broadcast. “This means that the populist game played by individual politicians at the expense of an entire industry must come to an end.”
“The currently proposed short-term and sometimes populist interventions in the banking sector are not effective and are damaging the investment climate,” said IV Secretary General Christopher Neumayer according to a broadcast. “The proposals for transparency in the interest rates on savings deposits will ensure that every citizen can invest their money with the best interest rate,” says Neumayer.
The Neos viewed the measures more critically: The Neos noted that it was their right for the banks to help affected borrowers. “Because it is not the job of politicians to regulate every area of life to death, just as the tenants cannot use their tax money to take on the risk of homeowners with variable credit,” said Neos economic spokesman Gerald Loacker according to a broadcast. However, non-wage labor costs would have to be reduced so that the population would have more money.
SPÖ demands interest rate cap
SPÖ finance spokesman Jan Krainer in turn, in a statement, called for an interest rate cap so that the loans can be repaid. On the other hand, SPÖ-NÖ chairman Sven Hergovich saw the plans of the banks and the government as at least a small success. After his demand for an interest rate cap of 3 percent, the problem was discussed, according to Hergovich in a statement by the SPÖ.
Nothing can be gained from the measures at the FPÖ: “Unaffordable loan interest remains unaffected, there is no interest rate cap, no excess profit tax, no increase in the bank levy and no end to the ‘fake profit’ tax on savings interest,” said the FPÖ party leader according to the broadcast Herbert Kickl and FPÖ finance spokesman Hubert Fuchs. “So there is nothing for the savers and the borrowers are begging the banks for interest on arrears and reminder fees.”
“Disappointing Results”
For the Austrian Trade Union Confederation (ÖGB), the results of the banking summit are disappointing. “The problem of high interest rates for overdrafts was not even addressed,” criticized ÖGB chief economist Helen Schubert in a broadcast. Other countries have interest rate caps for loans, Schuberth added. It is also unclear what the interest rate subsidies for a home ownership initiative will look like. “One can only hope that a concept will be worked out quickly,” says the economist.
The Chamber of Labor close Momentum Institute In a broadcast, he again refers to the French model and demands something similar for Austria: According to this, savers in France currently receive 3 or 6 percent interest on savings deposits, depending on their income, with this being determined by the state.
Consumer advocates see incorrect advice
But interest rates are also an issue for consumer protection organizations: the legal protection platform Cobin Claims sees incorrect advice, which is expensive for borrowers. But Cobin-Claims chairman Oliver Jaindl also sees problems with the approximately 45,000 Swiss franc loans with final maturity and repayment vehicles that are still outstanding: Here politicians should ensure a moratorium to prevent emergencies and foreclosures.
The Consumer Protection Association (SAAM) also criticizes foreign currency loans and calls for the statute of limitations for incorrect advice to be extended from three to 30 years, as well as a support fund for lawsuits and a hardship fund, as well as the implementation of the EU directive for class action lawsuits in order to be able to help those affected more easily.
The former Erste Bank boss Andreas Treichl criticized the lack of financial knowledge in Austria in advance in the “Ö1-Morgenjournal”. Serious wrong decisions could be avoided in this way.
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