Image: Photo: Weihbold
The largest Upper Austrian bank has turned the result for the half-year. The profit for the period is 448.9 million euros after a minus of 236.1 million in the previous year, the operating result rose from -222 million to plus 502.6 million euros. The investments contributed more than 300 million euros. This extremely volatile earnings situation can be explained by the accounting regulations. It is not the profit from the holdings that counts for RLB’s results, but their valuation on the stock exchange. In the previous year, the devaluations were bitter on the balance sheet, this year they were very pleasing. Both extremes reflect only part of reality.
In the actual banking business, RLB increased both in financing (up one percent to EUR 26.2 billion) and in net interest income (up 34.5 percent to EUR 289.3 million). It is striking that customer deposits (especially on current accounts) are declining. General director Heinrich Schaller attributes this to the fact that customers are struggling with inflation. “The credit lines are now being used to a greater extent, but overdrafts and defaults are limited.”
Schaller does not consider an excess profit tax for the banks to be justified. He points out that in addition to general taxes, Austrian banks have paid almost ten billion euros in special taxes and other levies since 2011.
he have one “certain concern”that the economy in Austria is not developing particularly well, said Schaller. He attributes this to the persistently high level of inflation. He considers the expected 7.5 percent for 2023 to be realistic. He demands that public subsidies be paid out in a targeted manner, because otherwise they would drive up prices. For the upcoming wage rounds in the fall, he hopes for a result with a sense of proportion.
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