Volksbank sees massive losses this year, due to major write-offs in Romania and at home

Austrian Volksbank Group expects massive losses this year, due to major write-offs in Romania and at home, according to the bank. The book values of OeVAG's Vienna-based Investkredit Bank and Volksbank Romania "will be written down by an amount of approximately EUR 700 million in the single entity statement, according to Gerald Wenzel, OeVAG CEO. Thus, the company’s total annual loss for 2011 would amount to about EUR 900 million, plus or minus 150 million euros, depending on the development of the markets. "We expect a loss ranging from 500 million to 750 million euros on the consolidated group level (IFRS)," added Gerald Wenzel. See the entire article here. Volksbank International (VBI) recorded last year a net loss of EUR 36 million from its operations in Romania, said Friedhelm Boschert, executive director of the bank, quoted by Reuters. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Agerpres)