BAWAG PSK

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  BAWAG PSK Bank for Labor and Economy and Österreichische Postsparkasse Aktiengesellschaft
logo
Seat Vienna , AustriaAustriaAustria 
legal form Corporation
ISIN AT0000BAWAG2
Bank code 14000
BIC BAWAATWWXXX
founding 1882 (PSK)
1922 (BAWAG)
2005 (merger to BAWAG PSK)
Website www.bawagpsk.com
Business data 2018
Total assets € 44.388 billion
insoles € 30.195 billion
Customer credit € 30.482 billion
Employee 2,990
management
Board Anas Abuzaakouk
Supervisory board Egbert Fleischer

The BAWAG PSK Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft and Austrian Postal Savings Bank Aktiengesellschaft , based in Vienna is a bank and was on 18 December 2000 and net present value Aktiengesellschaft established as a wholly owned subsidiary of the former BAWAG in Austria. It was created with the merger agreement of August 1, 2005 with the simultaneous change of name to BAWAG PSK through the merger of the Bank for Labor and Economy (BAWAG) with the Österreichische Postsparkasse (PSK). Measured in terms of total assets, it is the fourth largest bank in Austria.

After the IPO in October 2017 and further sales, 48.7% of the shares are in free float. The remainder of the shares are held by the mutual funds Cerberus Capital Management and GoldenTree Asset Management, each with 25.7% . In 2006 BAWAG got into serious difficulties because of a financial scandal ( BAWAG affair ) in which the bank lost around 3.5 billion euros and had to be saved from bankruptcy by a billions-worthy government action. The creditworthiness of the bank was subsequently downgraded several times by the rating agency Moody's .

As the legal successor to the Postsparkasse, the bank is the house bank of the Republic of Austria ( Section 111 Federal Budget Act).

history

Austrian Post Savings Bank

Old PSK logo
Wiener Postsparkasse, built by Otto Wagner
Memorial to Georg Coch , founder of the Postsparkasse

The Österreichische Postsparkasse (PSK) was one of the largest banks in Austria and was founded on the basis of a law from 1882. In 1883, almost 4,000 post offices started the postal savings bank service. The Austrian postal savings system received significant impetus from Georg Coch . In the First Republic, the state-owned credit institute got into talk in the context of the postal savings bank scandal that broke out in 1926 , which involved speculation on the stock exchange in securities and foreign exchange , often in collaboration with the large speculator Siegmund Bosel . In this context, the short-term Finance Minister Jakob Ahrer also temporarily emigrated to Cuba.

In 1906 they moved into the new main building on Georg-Coch-Platz in Vienna , which was built according to plans by Otto Wagner and is one of the most important Art Nouveau buildings in Austria.

Bank for work and business

Former BAWAG headquarters in Seitzergasse in Vienna

The bank was founded in 1922 by the former state chancellor, the social democrat Karl Renner , as a “workers bank ”, less with the aim of providing workers with cheap loans, but “to create an auxiliary institute for the organizations and institutes of the working class that would enable them to use capitalist institutions spared ”(quote from Karl Renner). It replaced the credit association of Austrian workers' associations that had existed since 1913 . In the "Arbeiterbank AG", the socialist trade unions and the large purchasing company for Austrian consumer associations (GÖC) each had a share of 40 percent. In 1934 the bank was dissolved by the Austro-Fascist corporate state .

Re-established after the Second World War in 1947, the bank, renamed Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft or BAWAG for short, in 1963 reached a large clientele from the 1970s onwards. The branch network was greatly expanded. Popular products of the bank were and are the capital savings book (fixed interest savings book with various predetermined terms) and the works council loan (a private loan brokered for employees through the works councils of Austrian companies).

The main shareholder was the Austrian trade union federation ÖGB (70%) together with the consumer cooperatives (30%). After Konsum went bankrupt in 1995, Bayerische Landesbank took over its shares and increased them to 46%. In 2004, however, BayernLB left BAWAG and sold its shares to ÖGB, which was now BAWAG's sole shareholder.

Although BAWAG has made several acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary) and Malta in the past few years, the business focus is still , in contrast to other Austrian banks ( Bank Austria , Erste Bank , Raiffeisen Zentralbank ) in Austria. After BAWAG was taken over by the US fund Cerberus, most of the foreign banks were sold.

On May 14, 2007, BAWAG PSK was finally taken over by the US fund Cerberus (see BAWAG sale ).

At the same time, it was announced that the existing cooperation agreement with Swiss Post for the sale of financial services through the 1,334 Post branches will be extended by three years until 2015. The sale of financial service products through the Post is to be expanded. In 2018, the dissolution of this cooperation was announced and the Post had to start clearing the branches.

Merger to form BAWAG PSK

Old BAWAG PSK logo with the combined logos of the two banks

In 2000, BAWAG bought 74.82% of the shares in Österreichische Postsparkasse (PSK) from the Republic of Austria, which offers financial services through the Austrian Post's branch network . In November 2003 BAWAG took over the remaining 25.18%, which had been a subsidiary of Bayerische Landesbank and ÖGB since 2000 . In 2005 merged BAWAG final with PSK and there was BAWAG PSK as the fourth-largest banking group. In the course of this final merger of BAWAG with PSK in 2005, the "old" BAWAG was renamed to share management BAWAG PSK AG (AVB) and became the financial holding through which the ÖGB held its shares in BAWAG PSK. The BAWAG management at the time decided to transfer as much of its own funds as possible from the parent holding company AVB to the operational bank. This is how the ÖGB's debt of 1.531 billion euros to the AVB came about, and only became known to the public in June 2006. ÖGB President Rudolf Hundstorfer , who had approved the merger agreements in September 2005 on behalf of the then ÖGB President, said he was not aware of this transaction at the time, which ultimately resulted in profound consequences for ÖGB.

The BAWAG affair

Main article: BAWAG affair

In March 2006, the Financial Market Authority announced that in addition to the loans to Refco, BAWAG's high-risk “Caribbean deals”, which became known in the course of the investigation into the Refco credit debacle, would also be examined. According to newspaper reports, these “Caribbean businesses” should have suffered losses of around one billion euros between 1995 and 2000.

These “Caribbean deals” involved risky investments, especially in the form of interest rate and currency swaps of considerable volume. In the course of this business and especially in the concealment of the huge losses that had occurred, letterbox companies were founded that were based on tax-friendly Caribbean islands, especially in Anguilla - hence the name of the debacle. For the 2000 balance sheet, BAWAG's auditors asked for a guarantee of the value of the loans to the many foundations and companies in which the “Caribbean losses” were hidden. This problem could only be overcome by a guarantee from the ÖGB. The then ÖGB President Fritz Verzetnitsch issued the guarantee without information, let alone the approval of the responsible bodies (Supervisory Board of BAWAG or Presidium of the ÖGB) and used the so-called strike fund of the ÖGB as collateral , which is continuously fed by payments from membership fees.

At a press conference on March 24, 2006, BAWAG Supervisory Board Chairman Günter Weninger confirmed these allegations and at the same time announced his resignation from his functions at BAWAG and the ÖGB. On March 27, 2006, the affair led to the resignation of ÖGB President Fritz Verzetnitsch .

After around a year of legal proceedings, all nine defendants were found guilty on July 4, 2008 and sentenced to imprisonment, some of them unconditional.

The main defendant, Helmut Elsner , was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for infidelity and fraud. The sentence for the former CEO of the bank was just below the maximum possible penalty for breach of trust. Elsner's successor in office, Johann Zwettler , received a five-year prison sentence. The speculator Wolfgang Flöttl, who lives in the USA and who gambled away several billion euros in speculative transactions by the bank, was sentenced to two and a half years, partly on probation.

The Supreme Court announced on December 23, 2010 that it had partially upheld the annulment appeal of the former BAWAG General Director Helmut Elsner against his first instance conviction. Nevertheless, Elsner was sentenced to a total of ten years' imprisonment, which corresponded to the maximum sentence provided by law. The imprisonment imposed by the first court on Elsner's successor Johann Zwettler was confirmed by the highest court. The judgments against the co-defendants were overturned and some were referred back to the first court.

BAWAG sale

On March 30, 2006, BAWAG owner ÖGB decided to part with the bank completely. There were heated discussions about whether the ÖGB should at least remain a minority owner. The poor financial situation of the ÖGB, triggered by the BAWAG debacle, did not allow any other solution than the total sale. On April 20, 2006, the US investment bank Morgan Stanley was commissioned to find potential buyers. The application deadline for the purchase of BAWAG PSK ended on September 8, 2006. Morgan Stanley had received a number of offers. On November 20, 2006, Morgan Stanley and ÖGB decided that four bidders would enter the final round with whom negotiations were continued. These included the Bayerische Landesbank , Allianz (which wanted to remain anonymous), the US fund Cerberus with partners and the US Lone Star . On December 14, 2006 the result of the bidding process was announced. The bid went to the consortium of the US fund Cerberus, which intended to successfully reorganize BAWAG PSK and to sell its stake again on the stock exchange at a profit after a few years.

On May 14, 2007, BAWAG-PSK was finally taken over by the US fund Cerberus . Cerberus received 90 percent of the bank, the remaining ten percent went to Austrian companies. In addition to the Austrian Post , which received 5 percent of BAWAG, Generali Versicherung held shares of 2 to 3 percent, the industrial group around Hannes Androsch with 1.5 to 2 percent and the Wüstenrot group with around one percent . The Post, Generali and Wüstenrot are primarily interested in a sales cooperation with BAWAG PSK.

The buyers paid a total of 3.2 billion euros for the bank, with 2.6 billion euros going as sales proceeds to the ÖGB, which was able to reduce its debts and avoid the Republic of Austria's liability. Another 600 million euros flowed into BAWAG PSK as a capital injection

In 2012, GoldenTree Asset Management LP , a US financial investor, acquired a stake in BAWAG PSK of approx. 39% from the US fund Cerberus and has been a large minority shareholder ever since.

Discrimination affair 2007

On April 13, 2007, BAWAG PSK hit the headlines because of a discrimination scandal because the accounts of around 200 "Cuban-born" private customers (according to press reports regardless of Austrian citizenship) were terminated with reference to their ancestry. This was justified by the fact that the new US owner did not want any business relationships with "Cuban people" (specifically, reference was made to the Helms-Burton Act ). Lawsuits in this regard have already been announced. The affair sparked a debate in which, as a serious consequence, the withdrawal of the Austrian state accounts from BAWAG is demanded. On April 26, Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik initiated administrative criminal proceedings against BAWAG based on EC Regulation No. 2271/96 “to protect against the effects of the extraterritorial application of legal acts issued by a third country, as well as legal acts based on them or resulting from them Measures "supports. According to law professor Heinz Mayer, every branch manager and every member of the board (as instigator) can be punished for every single termination, with the penalty amounting to 72,673 euros (one million schillings) and the fine - similar to wrong parking - also being imposed more often.

According to a press release by BAWAG, Cuban customers have been welcome again since May 4, 2007. Cerberus has received an exemption from the US Treasury Department.

Restructuring 2007

When BAWAG PSK was reorganized by the new owner, Cerberus, it was initially decided to launch BAWAG and PSK Bank with two brands. The bank distribution line in the Austrian post offices was called "PSK Bank". At the same time, a new logo was created for both brands. In the course of 2010, this strategy was abandoned in favor of a one-brand strategy. By 2012, all branches are to operate under BAWAG PSK with a uniform logo .

The 43% stake in the Austrian television station ATV was sold. In 2008, the Slovak bank subsidiary Istrobanka was also sold to the Belgian financial company KBC Group and BAWAG Bank CZ (Czech Republic) to Landesbank Baden-Württemberg . The Bösendorfer piano factory was sold to Yamaha at the end of 2007 .

In 2007, the insurance subsidiaries, namely BAWAG Versicherung AG and PSK Versicherung AG , were merged to form BAWAG PSK Versicherung . In connection with the transaction, 50.01% of the shares in the new insurance company were sold to the Generali Group Austria .

State support

In the course of the banking crisis, BAWAG received participation capital of 550 million euros from the Republic of Austria in 2009. In 2013, 200 million euros were repaid to the state and in March 2014 the outstanding 350 million euros were transferred to the Republic of Austria. A total of 784 million euros (including 234 million in dividends) was paid to the Austrian state.

IPO in 2017

The company was listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange in October 2017 . The proceeds from the issue totaled 1932 million euros, making the IPO one of the largest securities issues on the Vienna Stock Exchange. BAWAG shares have been traded on the Prime Market in Vienna since October 25, 2017.

Takeover of the German Südwestbank

According to an agreement from July 2017, BAWAG took over the German Südwestbank , whose business area is in Baden-Württemberg , from the previous owners, Andreas and Thomas Strüngmann . The Südwestbank is to serve as a platform for BAWAG's further expansion into Germany.

Termination of the cooperation with Österreichische Post AG

When it went public in 2017, Bawag PSK announced that it would terminate the cooperation agreement with Österreichische Post AG. The planned process was specified in February 2018. The services of Bawag PSK were offered in branches of the Post until March 31, 2020.

Company headquarters

The current company headquarters is the so-called "B-Tower" in The Icon Vienna of Signa Holding at Vienna Central Station at Wiedner Gürtel  11 in the 10th district of Favoriten . Until February 2019, the company's headquarters was the listed Wiener Postsparkasse at Georg-Coch-Platz  2. The also listed buildings - bank and residential building of the former BAWAG headquarters at Seitzergasse 2-4 and the bank building Tuchlauben 5 (formerly Hochholzerhof) - were among others BAWAG Real estate, etc. a. the Tuchlaubenhof in Tuchlauben 7 and 7a, sold to a consortium led by real estate investor René Benko .

Holdings

Former holdings:

  • Oesterreichische Nationalbank (11.9%; on May 2, 2006 it was announced that BAWAG and ÖGB were transferring their shares in the Oesterreichische Nationalbank to the Republic of Austria)
  • MKB, Hungary (the 10% stake in MKB was up for sale due to EU requirements; sold until February 2014)
  • Austrian lotteries (around one third, sold to Casinos Austria in 2007)
  • Bösendorfer , piano manufacturer (100%), sold to Yamaha (Dec. 2007)
  • Istrobanka, Slovakia (sold to KBC in March 2008)
  • BAWAG Bank, Czech Republic (sold to Landesbank Baden-Württemberg in April 2008)
  • BAWAG banka, Slovenia (merged with BAWAG PSK in 2012)
  • BAWAG International Finance, Ireland (liquidated in 2009)
  • Stiefelkönig , shoe retail chain

Shareholder structure

Shareholders Shares
Free float 97.10%
GoldenTree Asset Management LP 21.82%
T. Rowe Price International Ltd. 5.61%
Wellington Management Co. LLP 3.20%
Mainfirst Sicav - Top European Ideas Fund 2.50%
Harbor International Fund 2.43%
Government Pension Fund - Global (the) 2.16%
Investec Glb. Strat. Fd. - European Equity 1.59%
Cerberus Capital Management LP 1.54%
T Rowe Price International Value Equity Fund 1.37%

The total of the shares exceeds 100% because certain shareholders were added to the free float. As of April 2020

Web links

Commons : Bawag PSK  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b query for bank code 14000. In: SEPA payments directory of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) . (Requires browser reloading.)
  2. ^ A b Commercial register at the Commercial Court of Vienna , Österreichische Postsparkasse Aktiengesellschaft, commercial register number FN 158442d.
  3. ↑ a b Commercial Register at the Commercial Court Vienna, Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft Aktiengesellschaft, Commercial Register Number FN 107053g.
  4. ↑ a b c Commercial register at the Vienna Commercial Court , commercial register number FN 205340x: Merger agreement of August 1, 2005 and renaming of Kapital & Wert Bank Aktiengesellschaft to BAWAG PSK Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft and Österreichische Postsparkasse Aktiengesellschaft: With resolutions of the shareholders' meeting on September 8, 2005 in all three participating companies a) the previous Österreichische Postsparkasse Aktiengesellschaft (FN 158442d) as the transferring company was completely merged with the receiving company, now BAWAG PSK; b) In accordance with the demerger and takeover agreement of August 1, 2005, the assets of the "Bank Operations" business were split off from the previous Bank for Labor and Economics Aktiengesellschaft (FN 107053g) and merged with the receiving company; and c) at the general meeting of the receiving company BAWAG PSK, its statutes were amended by a new version. Registered in the commercial register at the Commercial Court of Vienna on October 1, 2005, accessed in firmenmonitor.at of the Wiener Zeitung on March 31, 2019.
  5. ↑ ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018 (PDF; 2.5 MB) Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Accessed on August 24, 2019.
  6. ↑ Company register at the Vienna Commercial Court , Kapital & Wert AG, registration number FN 205340x: The company with the business sector bank and at the office address of BAWAG in Seitzergasse 2-4, 1010 Vienna, was built with the Statute of 18 December 2000 and served as the absorbing company of the “banking operations” sub-operation, which was merged with the new company as a spin-off and transfer at the general meeting on December 18, 2000 of the existing Kapital & Wert Aktiengesellschaft (FN 79310h). New entry at the Vienna Commercial Court on February 13, 2001, accessed in firmenmonitor.at of the Wiener Zeitung on March 31, 2019.
  7. ↑ Company register at the Vienna Commercial Court , Kapital & Wert AG, registration number FN 205340x "sole shareholder: Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft Aktiengesellschaft" (= FN 107053g). Registered on August 26, 2005 at the Commercial Court Vienna, accessed in firmenmonitor.at of the Wiener Zeitung on March 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ BAWAG Group AG: Shareholder structure , accessed on May 29, 2019
  9. ↑ Legal successor to the Österreichische Postsparkasse in accordance with Section 71 of the Federal Budget Act until December 31, 2012; from January 1, 2013, unchanged in the relevant wording in accordance with Section 111 of the Federal Budget Act 2013, see Federal Law Gazette I No. 139/2009 .
  10. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 6, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.salzburg24.at
  11. ↑ tagesschau.de - Ex-BAWAG bankers embezzled billions - prison sentences in Austria's largest economic process ( Memento from March 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on July 4, 2008)
    Daily foam report in the Internet archive ( Memento from March 14, 2009 in Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ WiWo.de - Ex-BAWAG bankers receive heavy fines (accessed on July 5, 2008)
  13. ^ According to the Supreme Court decision: Elsner sentenced to the maximum penalty . diepresse.com. December 23, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  14. ↑ Federal law establishing sanctions for violations of Regulation (EC) No. 2271/96
  15. ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 2271/96 (PDF) of the Council of November 22, 1996 on the protection against the effects of the extraterritorial application of legal acts issued by a third country
  16. ^ Oe24.at: Foreign Minister Plassnik initiates administrative criminal proceedings against BAWAG
  17. ↑ The standard: “CUBA crisis” could be expensive
  18. ↑ BAWAG press release of May 4, 2007: Cuban customers welcome again ( memento of March 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  19. ↑ Financial Times Deutschland: Bawag receives exemption for Cuba business ( memento of July 30, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), May 7, 2007
  20. ↑ Realignment of BAWAG PSK under one brand. Retrieved July 10, 2011 .
  21. ↑ Sale of Istrobank in Slovakia. Retrieved July 10, 2011 .
  22. ↑ Sale of BAWAG Bank CZ in the Czech Republic. Retrieved July 10, 2011 .
  23. ↑ Bösendorfer piano factory goes to Yamaha. Retrieved July 10, 2011 .
  24. ↑ Fusion fix - Generali takes over BAWAG and PSK Versicherung. Retrieved July 8, 2020 .
  25. ↑ Cerberus increased capital on ORF of March 13, 2014, accessed on March 13, 2014.
  26. ↑ orf.at: Largest IPO in a decade . Article dated October 25, 2017, accessed October 25, 2017.
  27. ^ Daniel Gräfe, Stuttgarter Zeitung: Südwestbank is sold to Austria. May 24, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  28. ↑ Handelsblatt: Bawag makes entry at Südwestbank perfect. July 17, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  29. ↑ 11 10 2017 at 18:26 by Jakob Zirm: Bawag wants to part with Post. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
  30. ↑ 27 02 2018 at 18:19: Bawag leaves Post earlier. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
  31. ↑ Your partner for banking matters - Post AG. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
  32. ↑ Gerhard Rodler: Christmas present for Signa: Complete BAWAG moves to ICON. In: Immobilien Magazin Online, December 22, 2016, accessed on March 31, 2019.
  33. ↑ a b Commercial register at the Vienna Commercial Court, commercial register number FN 205340x: "BAWAG PSK Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft Aktiengesellschaft [,] Georg-Coch-Platz 2 [,] 1018 Vienna [,] now Wiedner Gürtel 11, 1100 Vienna." at the HG Vienna on February 20, 2019, accessed in firmenmonitor.at of the Wiener Zeitung on March 31, 2019.
  34. ↑ See list of listed objects in Vienna / Innere Stadt / Rot-Si .
  35. ↑ See List of listed properties in Vienna / Inner City / So-Z .
  36. ↑ SIGNA Holding and ECO Business-Immobilien AG with strategic alliance at BAWAG-Immobilien.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. SIGNA-Holding press release, November 27, 2007. Accessed on August 20, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / signa-propertyfunds.com  
  37. ↑ Press release VB Leasing. (No longer available online.) BAWAG PSK, October 5, 2015, formerly in the original ; accessed on October 23, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bawagpsk.com  
  38. ↑ Capital increase at MKB. Retrieved July 10, 2011 .
  39. ↑ BAWAG PSK announces net profit of EUR 229.1 million in 2013. (PDF) (No longer available online.) BAWAG PSK, March 13, 2014, formerly in the original ; accessed on October 23, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bawagpsk.com  
  40. ↑ http://www.bawagpsk.com/bawagpsk/__UeberUns/Presse/nav,setId=bawagpsk,path=_2A125940_2A_2F125940_2F121000_2F229504.html
  41. ↑ http://www.news.at/articles/0812/30/200857/bawag-t Nahrungsmittel-istrobanka- geht-grossbank-kbc-350-mio- euro
  42. ↑ http://www.bawagpsk.com/bawagpsk/home/nav__en,setId=bawagpsk,path=_2A125696_2A_2F125696_2F120994_2FCR120994_2FCD246240.html
  43. ↑ BAWAG PSK company history 2005–2014. (No longer available online.) In: www.bawagpsk.com. Formerly in the original ; accessed on October 23, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bawagpsk.com  
  44. ^ Christian Höller: Bawag sells family silver. In: diepresse.com. October 14, 2010, accessed October 23, 2015 .
  45. ↑ BAWAG GROUP company profile | Information about BAWAG GROUP | finanzen.net . In: finanzen.net . ( finanzen.net [accessed on March 25, 2018]).

Coordinates: 48 ° 11 ′ 13.1 ″  N , 16 ° 22 ′ 43.2 ″  E