Download - Volksbank AG

THE BANK FOR CORPORATES
6
Letter from the Board of Management
balance sheet rules and the new requirements for the management of corporate capital structure.
A major advantage our customers enjoy is our ability to provide from one source the experience and
know-how to raise the external or equity funding needed for the consolidation or expansion of business.
Against the background of the ever-growing need of lenders to diversify unsystematic risk, we benefit
from our neutral position in the Austrian market, allowing us to act as underwriters and
”facilitators” for arranging major loans and bond issues, thus helping to keep the market for
external capital liquid. A good example was the successful issue of corporate bonds for our clients
last year and the even greater volume floated in the current year with the goal of spreading their
creditor base.
In the course of 2001, Europa Consult was able to establish itself firmly as a recognised and important
member of the investment banking community. Both in structuring management buy-outs and in
consulting for business acquisitions or divestments, major assignments were completed to the
full satisfaction of the clients. Working in close cooperation with the Corporate Lending Team of
the bank, we negotiated transactions involving the mezzanine capital fund created jointly with the
Financing Guarantee Company (FGG) and INVEST EQUITY. The welcome participation of the German
KfW in the activities of INVEST EQUITY enhanced the self-confidence of the team of excellent
investment managers during a difficult year for private equity and venture capital activities.
In the area of treasury services for corporates, Investkredit captured a strong position among the
top 500 Austrian companies as a partner for interest and currency derivative transactions. According
surveys by external consultants, Investkredit holds third place in the Austrian market for treasury
services. In the area of asset management progress was less satisfactory. Investkredit investment
funds suffered from the plummeting capital markets, which decreased the volume of funds placed
with our customers. We have therefore decided to focus even more on risk-averse and guaranteedcapital
products, thereby meeting the needs of finance executives wishing to avoid having to report
investment risks in addition to the normal risks related to their business.
Having now more or less completed the transformation of Investkredit from a bank specialised in
financial aid to an investment bank, a process that began in 1995, and strengthening our major
subsidiaries by entering into expansion partnerships in Europe, the bank’s next strategic move is
towards internationalisation. What has already started at the level of subsidiaries at Kommunalkredit
and Europolis is now being implemented at Investkredit.
While the internationalisation strategy of Investkredit was best reflected in the balance sheet up until
now under investments in investment-grade securities, it is currently being expanded by consistently
exploiting core competencies in the field of corporate financing in a regionally enlarged market.
This territory includes the EU candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe in addition to the
large market of Germany.
In contrast to the strategies adopted by Kommunalkredit and Europolis, Investkredit has decided not
to pursue internationalisation by acquiring banking interests or subsidiaries, but rather by establishing
branch offices and representative offices. The advantages of this method are the resulting ability
to combine the competence of the local teams with the know-how of the headquarters in Vienna,
which cuts the costs for our clients and shortens times for reaching decisions.
In Central Europe, Investkredit has its first locations in Prague and in Warsaw. With its firstclass
team, the representative office Prague achieved concrete results within a short time; Warsaw is
to follow in early summer 2002. We are setting an example as the only Austrian bank thus far
to set up a branch office in Frankfurt, the seat of the European Central Bank and of important