ECB Pushes Banks to Take Hit on Loans to Austrian Tycoon Benko’s Business Empire

The regulator is pushing these banks to write down the value of their loans or make further provisions for potential losses, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous as the discussions are private. Not all lenders to Benko’s businesses face such action and any such hits to earnings probably won’t be big enough eat into the banks’ capital reserves, said the people.

The ECB’s actions come after months of scrutiny of banks that work with Signa in Austria, Germany and other European countries, said the people. German insurance companies also have exposure to Benko, said one of the people. The Signa spokesman said proceeds from the dozen sales it realized in recent months was 250% higher in total than the outstanding bank loans of these assets. He also said that the total consolidated debt of Signa Real Estate, or the loan to value ratio, was still less than 50%.

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