Bank audit case: René Benko also sent the CVs of two leading bank auditors to Alfred Gusenbauer. The former chancellor and former SPÖ boss wrote a letter to the SPÖ-affiliated board of the Financial Markets Supervisory Authority in September 2023.
After Labor Day there was hectic activity at the Austrian National Bank. Research by ‘Krone’ and ‘News’ showed that Signa founder René Benko apparently wanted to engage his confidant Sebastian Kurz in July 2023 for possible interventions in the field of bank audits.
At the time, the Signa Group’s home and court banks, which were deliberately opaque in design, in Germany and Austria were the focus of the auditors of the European Central Bank and the National Bank. On a Sunday in July, Benko had sent Sebastian Kurz the resumes of two prominent bank auditors who had apparently been investigated by a consulting firm. According to a spokesperson, the former Chancellor of Austria, who responded to Benko’s career email with a brief ‘thank you’, does not wish to have undertaken ‘any activities’ on this extremely sensitive subject. The Austrian National Bank has announced that it will closely investigate the events.
“Call back please”
However, another multi-million dollar consultant from the Signa Group was very active: Alfred Gusenbauer, former chancellor and long-time chairman of the supervisory board of the bankrupt Signa Prime and Signa Development. The former SPÖ chairman, who was employed by real estate speculator Benko from 2009, should – like Sebastian Kurz – receive the CVs of the two strict bank examiners on Sunday, July 23, 2023 at 1:32 PM. From Benko himself. In the email to Gusenbauer, which is available to the “Krone” and News, the bankrupt Benko, who has since collapsed:
“Call back please.”
Just two days later, on July 25, 2023, Benko wrote an email to himself that was apparently intended as a reminder: “Approach the ECB via Ettl.”
Helmut Ettl is one of the two board members of the Financial Market Authority (FMA). Ettl is considered an SPÖ man; he was active in the Socialist Youth from an early age. Above all, Helmut Ettl is present in powerful committees as a board member of the FMA: member of the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority (EBA). Member of the European Systemic Risk Board. And: Member of the Supervisory Board of Banking Supervision (SSM) of the European Central Bank (ECB) since 2014.
The letter to “dear Heli”
The fact that Benko, with the help of Gusenbauer, brought the ECB issue to FMA board member Helmut Ettl to intervene in the evaluations of the Signa properties in the ECB audits is revealed in a letter available to the “Krone”.
On September 18, 2023, Comrade Gusenbauer turns to “Dear Heli!” Under the topic “Signa-ECB” he gets straight to the point:
“As last mentioned at our meeting in August, an onside ECB expectations team has been carrying out assessments of real estate loans granted for Signa projects at Austrian and German banks. For Signa, this checking of an individual customer is irritating because it means that the banks are confronted with a need for value adjustments that do not correspond to current market conditions.” At least that is what the then Signa advisor Alfred Gusenbauer thinks. He claims, among other things, that Signa “ has successfully traded real estate worth several hundred million euros in Germany and Austria in 2023.” And: the purchase prices achieved would show “a significantly different picture” than “the results of the ECB’s onside expectations”.
“Extraordinary real estate locations…”
Gusenbauer then lists “three exemplary sales in recent months” and points out to Ettl that “the ECB’s expectations do not reflect the current market situation. The central, inner-city locations of a large part of the Signa portfolio show that even in a difficult market environment, as is undoubtedly the case today, there is demand for such exceptional real estate locations in German and Austrian cities and that property values are increasing. Gusenbauer comments: “The purpose of the ECB’s approach is therefore not clear to us and we ask for your support in clarifying the situation and are available for discussions at any time – including with ECB representatives. ”
Signed: “Your Alfred Gusenbauer.”
The thick end is known. At the end of November – just a few weeks after Gusenbauer’s intervention – Signa Holding went bankrupt, and at the end of December Signa Prime and Signa Development also went bankrupt. In the insolvency documents drawn up by Signa, the values of the ‘exceptional real estate locations’ had to be massively devalued. The Signa portfolios that Gusenbauer had recently touted at Ettl were actually devalued by a total of billions a few weeks later.
In any case, it seems that an investigation into the processes during the Signa investigation is not only necessary at the Austrian National Bank. The Financial Markets Authority and the European Central Bank may also have a problem.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
