An official representing Austrian regional banks told newspaper Kurier that mergers would enable them to save money to help buy back Volksbanken AG. There are 51 regional banks in the country that hold a majority share of Volksbanken. The latter was partly-nationalized last year. The regional banks need to pay back the state a total of EUR 300 million or USD 399 million by 2017 to be able to buy back the 43% stake now held by the Austrian government. Aside from boosting profits, mergers were also seen as one way to enable the banks to reach this objective.
Heribert Donnerbauer, the representative of the regional banks, told Kurier that their goal was "to cut costs by 65 million euros a year." He added that when banks merged, they would also integrate their information technology systems as one which could save them another EUR 15 million annually.
So far, four regional banks have already joined forces. Donnerbauer said they aim to reduce their number to anywhere between thirty-five and forty banks.
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