BAWAG: История австрийского банка

Austrian bank

BAWAG (German language: Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft) was a bank in Austria founded in 1922. On October 1, 2005, it merged with the separate Österreichische Postsparkasse (P. S. K.) to form the "Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse AG", shortened as BAWAG P. S. K. In October 2017, BAWAG Group AG, the holding company of BAWAG P. S. K., became a listed company on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Largest shareholders are GoldenTree Asset Management (21.8%) and T. Rowe Price (5.6%). BAWAG has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank.

BAWAG was founded in 1922 by the Austrian Chancellor Dr. Karl Renner as the Arbeiterbank (Austrian Worker's Bank), not so much to extend favourable terms of credit to ordinary people, but to spare them to resort to more capitalist institutions (cit. Renner). Socialist trade unions and the Großeinkaufsgesellschaft für österreichische Consumvereine (Austrian consumer associations procurement company) each hold a 40% stake in the bank. However, because of those close ties to the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and labour unions, BAWAG was forced to close in 1934 by the Austro fascist government of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß. It resumed its operations after the end of World War II in 1947. In 1963, it took the name of Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft AG (BAWAG, translatable as "Bank for Labour and Business"). The bank continued to have close relations to social democratic party SPÖ and the unions. The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) retained 70% of the shares, the other 30% were held by the Konsum retail cooperative chain. In the 1970s, popular products were the Kapitalsparbuch (fixed term savings passbook) and the Betriebsratskredit. At the same period, the bank actively used its finances to sponsor the promotion of Austrian contemporary art and culture. The BAWAG Foundation was established in 1974 with the goal of making art as accessible as possible to all people. The Foundation was closed in 2013. In 1979, parliament amended the Austrian Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz or KWG), which now allowed the operation of branches. The BAWAG experienced rapid expansion throughout Austria, from an existing network of 26 offices to 120 by 1982. The shareholder Konsum went bankrupt in 1995, which sent shockwaves through the political landscape in Austria, especially for the social democrats. The Bayerische Landesbank bought the shares and increased its stake to 46%.

In 2000, BAWAG successfully took over a majority of shares of the Österreichische Postsparkasse (P. S. K.) bank, buying 74.82% of the shares from the government. In November 2003, the remaining 25.18% were bought up as well. The merger, which was not finalized until 2005, created the country's third largest bank group with a balance sheet total of nearly 45 billion euros, 5000 employees, some 2000 outlets (including branches where P. S. K. has been already located) and over one million private customers (2000). The new BAWAG/P. S. K. Group now had the largest centrally managed sales network in Austria. to KBC Group in July 2008, BAWAG Bank CZ to Landesbank Baden Württemberg in September 2008, piano producer Bösendorfer to Yamaha in January 2008 and Stiefelkönig (shoe retailer) in 2011. In January 2022, the US hedge fund GoldenTree, Bawag's main shareholder, sold almost €290 million worth of Bawag shares. The fund reduced its stake by more than half.

In 2007, BAWAG hit headlines because the bank accounts of about 200 Cuban citizens had been terminated, for "the new owner did not want any trade relation with cubans", in respect of the Helms Burton Act. After pressure from the government threatening to close its own accounts and initiation of a legal procedure, Ceberus obtained an exemption from the US. government.