Signa bankruptcy: Possible involvement of Hypo Vorarlberg

2023-11-29 18:17:41

SPÖ inquiry demands answers from LH Wallner

Bregenz (OTS) – Today it was announced that Signa Holding GmbH has filed for insolvency proceedings at the commercial court in Vienna. René Benko’s company can no longer meet the outstanding payment demands amounting to billions. According to media reports, Hypo Vorarlberg is also affected by this. The bank, which is majority owned by the state of Vorarlberg, is said to have invested around 200 million in Signa projects. National Council member Reinhold Einwallner calls for absolute transparency in this matter: “How can it be that a state bank is involved in such speculative transactions? Governor Wallner must ensure that a full investigation takes place here.”

Stability is the order of the day

If it turns out that Hypo Vorarlberg has 200 million euros outstanding from Signa, this cannot simply be accepted, Einwallner makes it clear: “The Signa insolvency is one of the biggest bankruptcies of the Second Republic. The fact that this may also have an impact on the Vorarlberger Landesbank is intolerable.” The National Council member emphasizes that stability must be the order of the day, especially in the current tense financial times. “Speculative investments should not be part of the business policy of a bank that is majority owned by the country. The bank’s core task should be to focus on the local economy and housing financing,” said Einwallner. The SPÖ National Council member emphasizes that it now urgently needs to be clarified how great the damage to Hypo Vorarlberg actually is.

The Vorarlberg SPÖ club has already submitted a request to the state parliament in order to obtain concrete answers from Governor Wallner on the matter.