National Bank pays only eight million to the state

The fight against the economic effects of the corona crisis is also clearly noticeable in the balance sheet of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB). The OeNB’s business result melted down to ten million euros last year, said Governor Robert Holzmann at a press conference in Vienna yesterday.

Of the ten million euros that remained on balance, the federal government’s share of the profits was eight million euros. In 2019, the finance minister received more than 200 million euros.

As far as Austria’s economic development is concerned, the central bank chief is cautiously optimistic for the current year 2021. There is hope “that the most serious consequences are already behind us,” said Governor Holzmann. The economy is likely to grow by 2.2 percent in 2021, and the central bank expects an increase of 5.5 percent for 2022 – assuming that the lockdown will not last too long.

The gap in gross domestic product (GDP) after the slump in 2020 is therefore unlikely to close completely by 2022. But: “The upswing is coming,” said Holzmann. Above all, the export-oriented industry is already recovering.