Die einst konservative und gut prognostizierbare Bankbranche steht mitten im radikalen Wandel. Was noch vor fünf Jahren als undenkbar galt, ist zum grossen Teil schon geschehen. Externe Beobachter und die betroffene Branche sind sich einig, dass die Phase des Wandels für die Banken noch lange...

If banks' performance is to be be evaluated against the objectives they actually pursue, assessments of stakeholder-oriented banks should go beyond financial efficiency. Furthermore, also the environment these institutions operate in has to be kept in mind when interpreting levels of managerial...

Financial Predictors of Real Activity and the Propagation of Aggregate Shocks Bond yield and retail interest rate spreads are presumed to lead real activity on the basis of financial accelerator mechanisms, markup cyclicality or simply because they are forward-looking. Empirical results for...

Banks in Disadvantaged Areas Based on the presumption that the empirical banking literature devotes too little attention to institutions with special features, this paper examines banks that are affected by low regional development. Data on the full population of Austrian banks is applied to...

If and how the conduct of the banking sector contributes to the propagation of aggregate shocks has become a prominent empirical research question. This study explores what a cyclicality analysis of net interest margins and spreads, as well as profitability figures, can contribute to the...

This paper examines the issuance of share capital via the Vienna Stock Exchange between 1985 and 2004. Evidence is supplied concerning the aggregate factors that explain the time-series variation in both the numbers of and proceeds from initial public offerings (IPOs) and seasoned equity...

This study explores an important aspect of how the Austrian banking sector contributes to the propagation of aggregate shocks. Time series data for the 1995-2003 period are applied to examine the cyclical variations in interest rate spreads. Differentials between interest rates on loans and...

I examine whether or not returns on stock markets are a leading indicator for real macroeconomic developments in Austria, Japan and the USA. Further I deal with the concept of stock market efficiency, the question whether or not information from real and financial sectors of the economy is...

The empirical literature on interest rate transmission presents diverse and sometimes conflicting estimates. By discussing methodological and specification-related issues, the results of this paper contribute to the understanding of these differences. Eleven Austrian bank lending and deposit...

The transmission process from policy-controlled interest rates to bank lending rates deserves reconsideration owing to the implementation of the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999. Additional attention to the subject in Austria is due to several large banks which, in 2002, have been charged...