Austria
Measures taken in response to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Adoption date | Type of measure | Beneficiaries’ sector specification | Decryption of measure | |||
03/04/2020 | Public moratoria | All non-financial sector | For loans to consumers and micro enterprises interest payments and loan repayments are suspended for payments due between 1.4. and 30.6.,for three months respectively, and the term of the contract is extended by 3 months | |||
03/04/2020 | Public guarantees | Non-financial corporations | The guarantees are implemented by the AWS, ÖHT and COFAG via OeKB. This is intended to bridge temporary liquidity bottlenecks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to maintain the business activities of Austrian companies and to ensure the stabilisation of the employment situation. The gurantee share varies between 80% and 100%. | |||
03/04/2020 | Direct grants | Non-financial corporations | Short work model by the government. Businesses making use of the new short time working model will get their additional costs between actual working hours of their employees and up to 100% (e.g. for apprentices) of the net salaries of their employees reimbursed by the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS). Within a several week average actual working hours must at least amount to 10% of normal working hours in order to be applicable to the scheme. The government has dedicated 12 bn Euro to this measure. | |||
03/04/2020 | Tax deferrals | All non-financial sector | Tax deferral has a calculated impact of up to 10 bln Euro | |||
15/03/2020 | Other measures of fiscal nature | All non-financial sector | Unbureaucratic and flexible options will be made available for the deferment of collection of taxes. | |||
16/06/2020 | Other measures of fiscal nature | All non-financial sector | Complementary support package to stimulate the economy, partly funded by new money, partly by redirect money already earmarked to several funds. Net new stimulus amount equals roughly 12 bln. Euro. Actions announced at the governmental press conference include income tax reform, transfers to unemployed people and families or a dedicated funds for artists. | |||
18/09/2020 | Private moratoria | All non-financial sector | The moratorium is available to the asset classes (a) retail, (b) corporates und (c) loans secured by real estate mortgages and to leasing exposures. Bullet loans are explicitely excluded from the scope of the moratorium. | |||
03/04/2020 | Direct Grants | Non-financial corporations | Subsidies to cover fixed costs for companies. Different tranches apply for different time periods, prolonged currently until 30.06.2021. | |||
01/11/2020 | Direct Grants | Non-financial corporations | Compensation for loss of turnover due to lockdown in November and December 2020: Companies affected by the lockdown are to be compensated for their lost turnover. This is intended to ensure the liquidity of the companies. | |||
25/03/2020 | SyRB | Banking sector | FMA/OeNB enhanced communication to Austrian banks to address any potential stigma-effect of buffer usability. | |||
25/03/2020 | O-SII | Banking sector | FMA/OeNB enhanced communication to Austrian banks to address any potential stigma-effect of buffer usability. | |||
03/04/2020 | Other measure | Insurance sector | EIOPA and FMA urgently recommend insurance undertakings to refrain from the distribution of dividends as well as share buy-backs. | |||
19/03/2020 | Reporting requirements | All financial sectors | FMA extends reporting and procedural deadlines in situations where no threats or particular urgency exists. | |||
20/03/2020 | Buffer usability | Banking sector | Acceptance of the usage of microprudential and macroprudential capital buffers (CBR; P2G). | |||
23/03/2020 | Reporting requirements | Insurance sector | A questionnaire was launched on 12 March 2020 by FMA which deals with the BCM of insurance companies and the effect of COVID 19 on products | |||
27/03/2020 | Dividend distribution policy | Banking sector | A general recommendation was made to the credit institutions that, especially in the current situation, a conservative dividend and distribution policy on the part of the institutions should be followed. Further discussions are taking place both at national and SSM level. There is no final stance yet | |||
27/03/2020 | Reporting requirements | Insurance sector | FMA communicates its expectations regarding ad-hoc disclosure on the nature and effects of the major development due to Corona crisis. | |||
31/03/2020 | Reporting requirements | Banking sector | OeNB and the FMA announced their support for flexibility as suggested by the ECB/SSM, EBA and SRB regarding specific reporting requirements and submission dates, including selected national reporting requirements. | |||
15/04/2020 | Short selling ban | Securities and markets | The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) has extended the ban issued on 18 March 2020 by means of a Regulation for the temporary prohibition of short selling of certain financial instruments listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange (Wiener Börse) in an amended form until 18 May 2020. While short selling was prohibited to date with regard to every individual transaction, the amended Regulation now focuses on net short positions. The ban relates to establishing new net short positions or increasing existing net short positions. | |||
21/02/2020 | Other measure | All financial sectors | This FMA-Regulation enables employees to conduct an online identification of customers at the place of residence of the employees in a separate locked room (online identification while working from home) to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This method complies with the law regarding the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. | |||
15/03/2020 | Direct grants (w/o fin. stab. relevance) | All non-financial sector | Establishment of the Covid-19 Fund with a maximum allocation of € 4 billion. One off payments in the amount of 500 or 1,000 EUR. | |||
19/03/2020 | Other measure | All financial sectors | FMA is temporarily waiving the requirement for members to be personally present at meetings of the supervisory board and of the supervisory board’s committees | |||
27/04/2020 | Other state of emergency measure | All financial sectors | The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) extends different deadlines for its supervised entities regarding submissions by way of a Regulation. The deadline extensions are granted in light of the COVID-19 crisis. | |||
30/04/2020 | Other labour market measure | All sectors | The Regulation sets the limit of subsidies for businesses regarding short-time work for the year 2020 to 10 billion Euros. | |||
30/04/2020 | Travel bans | Non-financial corporations | The Regulation allows seasonal workers in the field of agriculture and forestry as well as health care and nursing staff from neighbouring states to enter into Austria via bus or train. These workers shall be quarantined at home for 14 days upon arrival. | |||
30/04/2020 | Other state of emergency measure | All sectors | The Regulations lays down different measures to ease restraints made due to the COVID-19-Pandemic. Working in same offices is possible if people keep a distance of at least one meter. Face masks have to be worn if employers and employees agree to this measure. Gatherings like conferences of more than 10 people are not allowed. Gatherings for work with more than 10 people are only allowed, if they are strictly necessary for the maintenance of the professional activity. | |||
16/12/2020 | Dividend distribution policy | All financial sectors | It is particularly important that financial services providers proactively identify and make appropriate provisions for the risks that are in their accounts. The most important preventative measure to take is increasing the quantity and quality of their own funds, or at least not to weaken it by making distributions. | |||