This paper presents the methodology, scenarios and results of the stress tests conducted for the update of Austria’s Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) in 2007. The focus of the paper lies in particular on the following two macroeconomic stress scenarios: (a) a regional shock in...

In quantitative financial stability analysis, the link between the macroeconomic environment and credit risk is of particular importance when assessing the risk hidden in loan portfolios. Macroeconomic stress testing, in particular, which aims at measuring the impact of an economic crisis on...

This study investigates the relevance of network topology for the stability of payment systems in the face of operational shocks. The analysis is based on a large number of simulations of the Austrian large-value payment system ARTIS that quantify the contagion impact of operational shocks at...

In 2002 the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) launched in parallel several projects to develop modern tools for systemic financial stability analysis, off-site banking supervision and supervisory data analysis. In these projects the OeNB’s expertise in financial analysis and research was...

Austrian banks are heavily engaged in Central and Eastern European (CEE) markets primarily by running local subsidiaries but also by extending cross-border loans. We give an account of the historical development and the status quo of these exposures and conduct a stress test for the Austrian...

This study was drafted during the preparation of the Fifth Joint High-Level Eurosystem – Bank of Russia Seminar hosted by the OeNB in Vienna on March 11–12, 2009. The first part of the study illustrates developments in the euro area, where the financial sector suffered to some extent from...

This paper describes the exposure of Austrian banks to foreign currency loans in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the CIS and elaborates on its risks to banking sector stability. Austrian banks’ foreign currency loan exposure more than doubled between 2005 and 2009, their regional...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze (hypothetical) contagious bank defaults, i.e. defaults not caused by the fundamental weakness of a given bank but triggered by failures in the banking system. As failing banks become unable to honor their commitments on the interbank market, they may cause...

Direct cross-border lending is an important component in the ongoing process of financial deepening in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). We use a loan-level dataset of Austrian banks to study the characteristics as well as the...