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CIBP Member Organization |
Österreichischer Genossenschaftsverband (ÖGV)
The Austrian Association of Cooperatives (Österreichischer Genossenschaftsverband, ÖGV) is the auditing and lobby organization of the Austrian cooperative banks (Volksbanken), the VBAG Group and the financial group of the Austrian popular banks, as well as of 100 services and productive societies. Apart from its statutory tasks, ÖGV is also responsible for services transferred to it by its members, including lobbying, market support, rating and prerating, mediation for cooperative banks, as well as advice on questions relating to law, taxes, organisation, marketing and management. Furthermore, ÖGV is also responsible for cooperative development, structural policy, public relations and representation within international organizations.
The Austrian Volksbank Group (VBAG Group)
The Volksbank sector's banks (primary stage) are regional cooperative banks enjoying a more than 150 year's tradition. Each one is a regionally strongly anchored universal bank which locally services its core target groups, i.e. small and medium-sized enterprises and private customers. They see themselves as local suppliers of financial services provided by a dense branch network of 545 sales outlets all over Austria. The 63 legally independent Volksbank sector's banks are owned by half a million Austrians and hold the majority (58.2%) in Volksbank AG (VBAG) and thus in the VBAG Group.
Volksbank AG (VBAG) is the central institution of the Volksbank sector's banks and focuses on the corporate and retail banking on an international basis. Thus, VBAG AG is responsible for the liquidity management, syndicated loans, issue of securities, etc. The VBAG Group comprises four strategic segments such as corporates, retail, real estate and treasury. The world-wide financial crisis had also impact on VBAG AG. Kommunalkredit Austria AG specialised in public finance had to be transferred to the state because the business model pursued by Kommunalkredit was not able to be retained anymore due to the increasingly short liquidity.
In 1991, VBAG AG started to expand its activities in Central and Eastern Europe. The CIBP members such as the French bank BPCE on the one hand and the German banks DZ BANK / WGZ BANK on the other hold each a 24.5% stake in Volksbank International, responsible for the retail business in Central and Eastern Europe. The network comprises more than 600 sales outlets in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Even during the financial and economic crisis, the Austrian Volksbank cooperative remains true to its values: regional anchorage, development of long-time partnerships with customers and members as well as mutual confidence as a basis for all financial transactions. The Volksbank cooperative is the only Austrian decentralised banking group that has a rating. In April 2009, the rating "A" was assigned to the Long Term Issuer Default Rating by Fitch Ratings, the outlook was assessed as "stable". |
