Raiffeisen-Economist Against, OeNB-Chief For Bank Levy

In the Raiffeisen sector, a possible bank levy, which is currently on the table in coalition negotiations, is naturally viewed with scepticism.

Raiffeisen Economist: Bank Levy Would Further Dampen Lending

Such a levy would likely further dampen the already restricted lending, warned Raiffeisen Research Director Gunter Deuber on Tuesday on the sidelines of a press conference. Although the capital equipment of Austrian banks is currently good, banks are already adjusting to lower returns due to rising risk costs and falling interest rates, according to Deuber. In addition, the relatively high profits of domestic banks in recent years, due to the high proportion of variable loans in this country, can also be attributed to special effects. "This is the only thing where one can speak of disproportionate profits of Austrian banks in the euro area." In principle, such a levy is counterproductive in the midst of the current difficult economic situation with low investments, the banking economist found.

Wifo banking expert Thomas Url sees it similarly. A special tax for just one sector would rather harm the location and could deter investors. "In principle, sector-specific special taxes are not an encouragement to invest in the location Austria," the expert said on Tuesday in the Ö1 "Mittagsjournal" of ORF radio. In addition, since the financial crisis, there have been stricter equity capital regulations for the sector, but falling interest rates will result in lower profits and thus less potential to build up more equity capital in the coming years. A bank tax would further reduce the banks' ability to build up equity capital and could consequently also reduce the credit supply, Url said.

OeNB Chief Holzmann, Chamber of Labour and Momentum Institute in Favour of Bank Levy

Still National Bank Governor Robert Holzmann, on the other hand, described the idea as a "sensible choice" for a contribution to budget consolidation. A bank tax is a "political decision", but could help a possible blue-black government close budget gaps, Holzmann said according to a report by the financial news agency "Bloomberg". Holzmann was appointed OeNB governor in 2019 with the support of the FPÖ. His term of office runs until the end of August 2025, he will be succeeded by Minister of Economy and Labour Martin Kocher (ÖVP).

The bank levy also finds advocates in the Chamber of Labour and the Momentum Institute. "It's high time that the winners of the crisis finally make a fair contribution to budget consolidation," demanded AK President Renate Anderl on Tuesday. Similarly, Momentum Chief Economist Oliver Picek in a press release: "The banks were one of the few big winners of inflation and high interest rates in recent years. A reasonable contribution from their windfall profits to the austerity package is overdue."

Austria primarily has a spending problem, said Hanno Lorenz, deputy director of the economically liberal Agenda Austria, in a discussion with Picek on Zeit im Bild 2. It is difficult to single out a sector and impose a special tax on it. Bicycle dealers also made very good profits after Corona, providers of photovoltaic systems benefited from the boom. And the banks had also had very weak years before, Lorenz noted. Picek countered that there is also a bank levy in other countries. This could, if the figures are applied to Austria, bring in around 850 million euros here. And there are also other examples of special taxes - such as on oil in OPEC countries.

(APA/Red)

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