Loans to Signa

Ländle-Hypo claims to have done nothing wrong

At first, those responsible at Hypo Vorarlberg remained silent about the impending losses of millions in the wake of the Signa bankruptcy, but after a storm of indignation, a press conference was hastily called on Friday evening. The content of the conference was admittedly modest.

The accusations are serious: the Vorarlberger Landesbank could have lost up to 131 million euros as a result of the Signa bankruptcy, partly because it was not too careful when granting the loans in terms of collateral. The Managing Board members Michel Haller and Wilfried Amann attempted to dispel this impression on Friday evening: "We only granted loans at standard market conditions and with appropriate collateral," the two sang in unison.

Hypo Vorarlberg has granted loans totaling 200 million euros to Signa, 131 million euros are considered "defaulted".(Bild: Hypo BanK Vorarlberg)

Haller wanted to emphasize that, contrary to the picture painted in the media, loans in the millions had by no means been granted unsecured: Collateral could take various forms, including guarantees, sureties or pledged shares. In such cases, however, this is not publicly apparent. "Certain collateral is not visible in the reporting system," says Haller. This circumstance also explains why the Austrian National Bank classified 61 percent of all Hypo loans to the Signa Group as "unsecured", according to the Hypo board member. If the Vorarlberg state bank had actually granted such a high rate of risk loans to the bubble universe of Tyrolean real estate gambler René Benko, it would be the lone leader among Austrian financial institutions. That's a title you'd better not pin on your lapel. What these ominous securities - a Picasso perhaps, a racehorse or a collection of fine mink coats? - in the case of Signa, Haller did not reveal, citing banking secrecy.

René Benko apparently maintained excellent contacts with Hypo Vorarlberg.(Bild: Klemens Groh Krone KREATIV)

This raises the logical question of whether this collateral would still be valid in the event of insolvency. The two gentlemen also failed to provide a clear answer in this regard. "In the case of a customer where you go into liquidation, you only know what the outcome will be at the end," said Amann in general terms. That sounds like the assessment of a proctologist and is not necessarily hopeful.

In general, one cannot help but get the impression that the Managing Board members of Hypo Vorarlberg are painting the sky much bluer than it actually is. The fact remains that the bank was warned several times by the supervisory authorities about credit transactions with Signa, and these deals are also said to have been controversial internally. And it is also a fact that other banks pulled the emergency brake much earlier. The extent of the damage will be known at the latest when the insolvency proceedings are concluded. And then it may also be necessary to discuss one or two personnel issues...