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Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Coordinates: 48°12′58″N 16°21′15″E / 48.21611°N 16.35417°E / 48.21611; 16.35417
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This article is about the central bank of the Republic of Austria. For the central bank of the Habsburg Monarchy, see Austro-Hungarian Bank.

Oesterreichische Nationalbank
HeadquartersVienna
Established1 January 1923; 101 years ago (1923-01-01)
Ownership100% state ownership[1]
GovernorRobert Holzmann
Central bank ofAustria
CurrencyEuro
EUR (ISO 4217)
Reserves9 620 million USD[1]
Preceded byAustro-Hungarian Bank
Succeeded byEuropean Central Bank (1999)1
Websiteoenb.at
1 The Oesterreichische Nationalbank still exists but many functions have been taken over by the ECB.

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (German pronunciation: [ˌøːstəʁaɪ̯çɪʃə natsi̯oˈnaːlˌbaŋk], lit. 'Austrian National Bank', abbr. OeNB) is the Austrian member of the Eurosystem and was the monetary authority for Austria from 1923 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1998, issuing the Austrian schilling.

It started operations on 1 January 1923 under the economic assistance provided to Austria by the Economic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations, replacing the Austro-Hungarian Bank with its name recalling that of the Austro-Hungarian Bank's predecessor entity founded in 1816. It was liquidated following the Anschluss in March 1938, and re-established in July 1945.

The OeNB is a joint-stock corporation governed by special legislative provision. Its entire capital of €12 million has been held by the Austrian federal government since May 2010, with shareholder rights exercised by the Minister of Finance.[2] Before 2010, half of the capital was in the hands of employer and employee organizations as well as banks and insurance corporations.[citation needed]

History

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A quarter of a founder's share of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, issued 22. December 1922

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank was established under the conditions of the stabilization loan coordinated by the Economic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations in 1922–23.[3] The bank's statutes were drafted by the League's Financial Committee and enacted in Austrian legislation on 14 November 1922. The new institution started operations on 1 January 1923.[4] It took over the former Austrian-territory branches and operations of the Austro-Hungarian Bank, whose liquidation had been implemented in accordance with the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye signed on 10 September 1919, and whose Governing Council last met on 15 December 1922.[5]

Following the banking crisis of 1931, Austrian National Bank President Viktor Kienböck oversaw an orthodox economic policy paradigm in which he rigorously defended the currency in the face of growing overvaluation. This contributed to a substantial contraction in Austrian GDP.[6]

Following the Anschluss in 1938, the Austrian National Bank's was liquidated, and its shareholders were forced to accept German government bonds in exchange for their shares.[7]: 70  Its operations were taken over by the Reichsbank and became the latter's Vienna branch, and the Reichsmark became Austria's currency by German decree of 17 March 1938. The former National Bank's gold holdings and foreign currency reserves were moved to Berlin.[8]

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank was re-established by the Central Bank Transition Act of 3 July 1945 of the Second Austrian Republic. The Austrian schilling came back to replace the Reichsmark on 21 December 1945. Much of the head office building served as headquarters of the American occupation forces in Austria from 1945 to 1951.[9]

Tasks and composition

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The main tasks of the OeNB center on contributing to a stability-oriented monetary policy within the Eurozone, safeguarding financial stability in Austria and supplying the general public and the business community in Austria with high-quality, i.e. counterfeit-proof, cash. In addition, the OeNB manages reserve assets, i.e. gold and foreign exchange holdings, with a view to backing the euro in times of crisis, draws up economic analyses, compiles statistical data, is active in international organizations and is responsible for payment systems oversight. Furthermore, the OeNB operates a payment system for the euro, promotes knowledge and understanding among the general public and decision makers owing to its comprehensive communication policy, and supports research in Austria.

Governing Board[10]
Name Function
Robert Holzmann Governor
Gottfried Haber Vice Governor
Eduard Schock Executive Director
Thomas Steiner Executive Director

Presidents/Governors

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Name Term
Richard Reisch [de] 1922–1932
Viktor Kienböck [de] 1932–1938
Eugen Kaniak 1945
Hans Rizzi [de] 1945–1952
Eugen Margarétha [de] 1952–1960
Reinhard Kamitz [de] 1960–1967
Wolfgang Schmitz [de] 1968–1973
Hans Kloss 1973–1978
Stephan Koren [de] 1978–1988
Hellmuth Klauhs [de] 1988–1990
Maria Schaumayer [de] 1990–1995
Klaus Liebscher [de] President 1995–1998, Governor from 1998 to September 2008
Adolf Wala [de] Director 1988–1998, President 1998–2003
Herbert Schimetschek [de] President 2003–2008
Claus Raidl [de] President September 2008 – August 2018[11]
Ewald Nowotny Governor September 2008 – August 2019[12]
Harald Mahrer [de] President since 1 September 2018[11]
Robert Holzmann[13] Governor from 1 September 2019[14] – August 2025
Martin Kocher Future governor from 1 September 2025[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
  2. ^ "Organization - Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB)". OeNB. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  3. ^ Nathan Marcus (2016), "Les conseillers étrangers à la Banque nationale d'Autriche 1923-1929 : contrôle ou coopération ?", Histoire, économie & société, 35 (4): 8–20
  4. ^ Anna Soucek (21 November 2018). "Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Wien". Ö1.
  5. ^ "1878–1922: The Austro-Hungarian Bank". Oesterreichische Nationalbank.
  6. ^ Kernbauer, Hans (2023), Kakridis, Andreas; Eichengreen, Barry (eds.), "Central Bank Policy under Foreign Control: The Austrian National Bank in the 1920s", The Spread of the Modern Central Bank and Global Cooperation: 1919–1939, Studies in Macroeconomic History, Cambridge University Press, pp. 105–138, doi:10.1017/9781009367578.008, ISBN 978-1-009-36757-8
  7. ^ Federal Reserve Board (November 1943), Army Service Forces Manual M360-5 / Civil Affairs Handbook Austria - Section 5: Money and Banking, Washington DC: U.S. Army Service Forces
  8. ^ "1938-1945: The central bank during the Third Reich". Oesterreichische Nationalbank.
  9. ^ "1945-1998: The Oesterreichische Nationalbank during the Second Republic". Oesterreichische Nationalbank.
  10. ^ "Governing Board". Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  11. ^ a b orf.at: Neubesetzungen im Aufsichtsratsgremium Archived 6 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. 22 August 2018, accessed 22 August 2018.
  12. ^ Neue Nationalbank-Führung fix. Archived 18 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Bei: derstandard.at.
  13. ^ Ministerrat nominiert neues OeNB-Direktorium Archived 6 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Bundesministerium für Finanzen, 30 January 2019.
  14. ^ Salzburger Nachrichten: Robert Holzmann als neuer Nationalbank-Gouverneur fixiert Archived 6 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. 29 January 2019, accessed 2 February 2019.
  15. ^ https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/austria-economy-minister-kocher-head-austrian-central-bank-apa-reports-2024-08-06/

48°12′58″N 16°21′15″E / 48.21611°N 16.35417°E / 48.21611; 16.35417

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