Nationalbank, Oesterreichische, OeNB#

Nationalbank, Oesterreichische, OeNB: Since the introduction of the European system of the European Central Banks (ESCB), the foundation of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Euro as new currency the nature of its tasks have changed fundamentally. As of January 1, 1999 all aspects concerning monetary policy were transferred into the realm of the ECB by the Austrian National Bank, at the same time the Austrian National Bank became an integral part of the ESCB. Its task as amended in the National Bank Act of 1998 (Federal Law Gazette, Part I No. 60/1998) is "to use all the means at its disposal to maintain the objective of price stability. To the extent that this does not interfere with the objective of price stability, the needs of the national economy with regard to economic growth and employment trends shall be taken into account and the general economic policies in the Community shall be supported."

The Austrian National Bank has the following responsibilities in implementing the monetary policy of the ECB in Austria: measures for maintaining stable interest rates and an adequate monetary supply for the banks, foreign exchange trading, administering foreign exchange holdings (about 90% of the former volume, about 10% with the ECB in Frankfurt am Main, Germany) and also administering income from the common monetary policy as part of the European System of Central Banks, issuing of bank notes, supplying the Austrian economy and population with cash and supervision of monetary transactions, ensuring and providing reliable clearing and transaction systems in Austria, within the Union and for transactions with non-EU states; drawing up of economic analyses and harmonisation of statistics as the basis for decisions by the council of the ECB concerning monetary policy; implementing and supporting measures for the supervisions of banks; participating in international strategies of monetary cooperation and in international financing institutions.

The OeNB is organized like a joint-stock company subject to several specific regulations resulting from its special central bank function. Half of its capital stock of ATS 12 million is owned by the Federal Government (ATS 150 million until 1998), the other half mostly by interest groups, banks and insurance companies as provided by law. - The bank consists of the following organs: The General Assembly approves the balance sheet and passes the resolution on the distribution of profits and chooses 6 out of the 14 members of the General Council; the General Council was responsible for decisions in the field of monetary policy until 1998, since 1998 functions as the Supervisory Board of a stock corporation; and the Board of Directors (management, consisting of the governor, deputy governor and two other members). The governor is an independent member of the ECB Council with the right to vote and thus helps to shape the monetary policy of the economic and monetary union, with the Austrian National Bank advising the governor.

The OeNB was founded in 1816 as the first issuing bank in the course of the reorganization of the currency system under the name of "Privilegierte Oesterreichische National-Bank" and was granted the issuing privilege. In the wake of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 it was turned into the "Austro-Hungarian Bank" in 1878, which was replaced by the Austrian National Bank in 1923. 1938 saw Austria become part of the German Reich in the Anschluss and Austrian Schilling was replaced by the Reichsmark (1.5 ATS = 1 Reichsmark). The OeNB was put into a state of incomplete liquidation until the end of World War II and resumed work in 1945. According to the Schilling law of November 30, 1945, the Reichsmark notes were exchanged at the rate of 1:1. In the 1950s the strict supervision of money transfers to and from foreign countries, which had been necessary because of the small amount of Austrian exchange holdings in 1945, was slowly liberalized. The National Bank Law of 1955 endowed the OeNB with additional instruments of monetary policy to strengthen its position as "monetary custodian" of the country. In 1984 the National Bank Law was renewed in the light of all formerly passed amendments. Thus the Austrian National Bank had the following responsibilities, which did not change significantly until the introduction of the Euro on January 1, 1999: the regulation of the circulation of money in Austria, the balance of payment with foreign countries and the stability of the Schilling; administration of the Austrian currency reserves (about 578 tons of gold valued at 32.7 billion ATS and foreign currencies worth 245.7 billion ATS as of December 31, 1998), the exclusive right to issue bank notes (the total note circulation had to be fully covered by suitable assets to ensure Austria´s ability to pay to other nations); economic tasks such as working towards a long-term equilibrium of the balance on current account. After the full liberalisation of foreign exchange law in 1991 this task has mainly shifted towards the statistic recording of international payments transactions.

Presidents of the Austrian National Bank since 1922: R. Reisch (1922-1932), V. Kienboeck (1932-1938), E. Kaniak (1945), H. Rizzi (1945-1952), E. Margaretha (1952-1960), R. Kamitz (1960-1967), W. Schmitz (1968-1973), H. Kloss (1973-1978), S. Koren (1978-1988), H. Klauhs (1988-1990), M. Schaumayer (1990-1995), K. Liebscher (1995-1998, governor since 1998).

Literature#