Oesterreichische Nationalbank
HeadquartersVienna
Established1 January 1923 (1923-01-01)
Ownership100% state ownership[1]
GovernorRobert Holzmann
Central bank ofAustria
CurrencyEuro
EUR (ISO 4217)
Reserves9 620 million USD[1]
Preceded byOesterreichisch-ungarische 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 (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.

History

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]

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 operations were merged into the Reichsbank, the institution itself was liquidated, and the Reichsmark became Austria's currency by German decree of 17 March 1938. Its gold holdings and foreign currency reserves were moved to Berlin.[7] 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.[8]

Tasks and composition

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[9]
NameFunction
Robert HolzmannGovernor
Gottfried HaberVice Governor
Eduard SchockExecutive Director
Thomas SteinerExecutive Director

Presidents/Governors

NameTerm
Richard Reisch1922–1932
Viktor Kienböck1932–1938
Eugen Kaniak1945
Hans Rizzi1945–1952
Eugen Margarétha1952–1960
Reinhard Kamitz1960–1967
Wolfgang Schmitz1968–1973
Hans Kloss1973–1978
Stephan Koren1978–1988
Hellmuth Klauhs1988–1990
Maria Schaumayer1990–1995
Klaus LiebscherPresident 1995–1998, Governor from 1998 to September 2008
Adolf WalaDirector 1988–1998, President 1998–2003
Herbert SchimetschekPresident 2003–2008
Claus RaidlPresident September 2008 – August 2018[10]
Ewald NowotnyGovernor September 2008 – August 2019[11]
Harald MahrerPresident since 1 September 2018[10]
Robert Holzmann[12] Governor from 1 September 2019[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 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. ↑ "1938-1945: The central bank during the Third Reich". Oesterreichische Nationalbank.
  8. ↑ "1945-1998: The Oesterreichische Nationalbank during the Second Republic". Oesterreichische Nationalbank.
  9. ↑ "Governing Board". Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  10. 1 2 orf.at: Neubesetzungen im Aufsichtsratsgremium Archived 6 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. 22 August 2018, accessed 22 August 2018.
  11. ↑ Neue Nationalbank-Führung fix. Archived 18 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Bei: derstandard.at.
  12. ↑ Ministerrat nominiert neues OeNB-Direktorium Archived 6 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Bundesministerium für Finanzen, 30 January 2019.
  13. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten: Robert Holzmann als neuer Nationalbank-Gouverneur fixiert Archived 6 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. 29 January 2019, accessed 2 February 2019.

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

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