“Austria’s banks are highly successful in their work and the Austrian financial system is extremely stable“, explains the FMA executive board when asked about the request to appoint a parliamentary committee of investigation regarding “financial market supervision, Bawag, Hypo Alpe Adria and other financial service providers“. The two Executive Directors Heinrich Traumüller and Kurt Pribil expressly advise against “causing severe harm to the international reputation of Austria as a financial marketplace by improper generalisation of individual problems and wholesale suspicions“. With this in mind, it would not make much sense to discuss problems of single financial service providers in a parliamentary committee of investigation.
However, the FMA executive board is unreservedly committed to its statutory accountability vis-à-vis the Austrian National Council, to whose Finance Committee it has to report on a quarterly basis. Thus it is a matter of course that the executive board will gladly answer all of the committee’s questions on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Financial Market Authority.
At the same time, however, the executive board refers to the fact that, during their regular inspections, independent international experts such as those from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have always confirmed that the work performed by the FMA meets the highest international standards. In addition, the first comprehensive audit of the FMA, operational since 1 April 2002, is currently being conducted by the Austrian Court of Audit. The Court’s report is expected in the first half of 2007.
“The Financial Market Authority (FMA), however, has always acted in a correct and diligent manner within the scope of its legal mandates and powers, which also comprises the problems mentioned in the request,“ explains the FMA executive board.
For further information please contact
Klaus Grubelnik (FMA Media Spokesperson)
+43/(0)1/24959-5106
+43/(0676)/882 49 516