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Annual Report 2001 Statement ≈◊ Oesterreichische Nationalbank Eurosystem AnnualAnnual ReportReport 20012001 ˆ Report on the Financial Year 2001 with Annual Statement of Accounts 2001 Submitted to the General Meeting on May 23, 2002 Statement Now that Europes monetary union1) substantial structural progress the has been established for three years, CEECs have already made on the road we have come to take it almost for to EU membership. granted. However, the gloomier inter- Of course, the CEECs participa- national economic situation and the tion in European integration must be uncertainty which spread across the carefully and diligently prepared. For globe in the wake of the terrorist inci- enlargement to work and for the inte- dents in the U.S.A. have impressed on gration of economies at various levels us just how crucial the European inte- of development to be a lasting success, gration project is in a globalized world it is in the interest of the EU and the economy. applicant nations to establish sustain- After the economy had performed able framework conditions. Quite ap- especially well in 2000, the reporting parently, decision-makers on all sides year 2001 was marked by a significant are aware of the challenge that enlarge- cooling. The downturn originated in ment poses. If we succeed in complet- the U.S.A., where a decade-long ing this decisive step of EU enlarge- expansion came to an end, and spread ment, Europes economic and political throughout the world. A hefty and position in the world will be strength- unexpected rise in oil prices triggered ened enormously. a slowdown of economic activity; at In the OeNB as a modern service thesametime,thecorrectionofover- provider, the year 2001 will be remem- investment in the IT sector and tum- bered as the final stage of intense prep- bling stock prices hit the real economy. arations for the project of the century, Europe, and with it Austria, could the introduction of euro banknotes and not fully escape the effect of the U.S. coins. Professional spadework and effi- slowdown. However, stable economic cient structures put in place well in ad- fundamentals and judicious action by vanceenabledtheOeNBtorisetothis economic policymakers prevented the challenge. The OeNBÕs close coopera- economy from sliding into a full-scale tion with its subsidiaries in the area of recession. Three years of a robust eco- payment instruments and with Austrian nomic expansion were followed by a banks facilitated the smooth transition deceleration to 1% growth in Austria to the euro for businesses and the gen- in 2001, but clues pointing toward a eral public. significant recovery were observed The OeNB fulfills its varied duties again after the beginning of 2002. De- at the European level with the same spite the slackening, Austrian eco- commitment with which it handled nomic policymakers stayed their stabil- the euro project. These responsibilities ity-oriented course in applying the rangefromtheactiveroletheOeNB policy mix. Here, the progress made plays in the ESCB/Eurosystem to the in budget consolidation was particu- manifold duties it carries out at the larly noteworthy. national level. As highlighted by the Developments in Central and East- successful switch to euro cash, serving ern Europe (the CEECs) stood out as the interest of the Austrian public and especially positive in the overall Euro- optimizing results for Austria are pean economic landscape. In the cur- the prime motives of the OeNBs activ- rent economic situation, these coun- ities. 1 Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union tries represent a stabilizing factor. (EMU) began on Moreover, the regionÕs stability gains Adolf Wala January 1, 1999. of the past years bear witness to the President 4 × Annual Report 2001 Statement Certainly the most oustanding event of of price stability and as a result on the business year 2001 was the unique maintaining the purchasing power of organizational, logistical and public re- the population of the euro area. lations challenge of introducing euro Although inflation temporarily rose banknotes and coins on January 1, well over the 2% reference value, fore- 2002. We may note with pride and de- casts signal that it will soon drop below light that the euro changeover pro- the 2% target again. ceeded smoothly in Austria, as it did Despite the downturn spreading in all 12 euro area countries, and that across the world, the euro area did theAustrianpeoplehavebecomeused not slide into recession last year. The to the new currency very quickly. Since business cycle appears to have bot- March 1, 2002, the euro has been the tomed out, and the long-term cyclical sole legal tender for roughly 300 mil- outlook for the euro area is in fact quite lion Europeans. Using real euro cash upbeat. marks the culmination of a long process As part of the stepped-up coordina- of monetary integration in Europe and tion of national economic policies, the helpsmakeÒEuropeapalpablecon- most important measures slated for cept for its citizens. the upcoming years are to continue The first three years of Economic public sector consolidation in line with andMonetaryUnionhaveimpressively the provisions of the Stability and shown that the European integration Growth Pact and to redouble efforts process rests soundly on the pillars of on structural reform with the aim of a stability-oriented monetary and fiscal boosting the euro areaÕs international policy and a competitiveness-oriented competitiveness. structural policy. A further challenge Europe faces in The independent Eurosystem the near future is the enlargement of quickly established itself as a stable the European Union over the next anchor, and it demonstrated its ability few years. A thoroughly prepared to act and react flexibly in the face of enlargement oriented on the EUs rapid change in the economic environ- well-established quality standards will ment and the tragedy of September 11, sustainably enhance Europes political 2001. These circumstances manifestly and economic stability and will thus showed that our countryÕs inclusion in reinforce the foundation for lasting the stability-oriented Economic and welfare and peace. Monetary Union has protected it from The euro will continue to play a negative shocks much more adequately central role as a catalyst for economic than was possible under past regimes. and political integration in Europe, as In fulfilling its numerous and varied re- an international stability anchor and, sponsibilities at the European and at the last but not least, as a token of iden- national level, the OeNB contributed tity for a modern, dynamic, open actively to overcoming these shocks. Europe. The single monetary policy of the Eurosystem has remained steadfastly Klaus Liebscher focusedontheprimaryobjective Governor Annual Report 2001 × 5 Conventions used in the tables — = zero x = not applicable 0 = negligible Discrepancies may arise from rounding. Abbreviations AG Aktiengesellschaft (roughly: HICP Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices stock corporation) IFES Institut fu‹r empirische Sozialforschung ARTIS Austrian Real-Time Interbank Settle- GesmbH (Institute for Empirical Social ment (the Austrian RTGS system) Research) APSS Austrian Payment Systems Services IHS Institute of Advanced Studies A-SIT Zentrum fu‹r sichere Informations- IMF International Monetary Fund technologie Austria — Center for IRB internal ratings-based Secure Information Technology Austria IRC International Relations Committee ATM automated teller machine IT information technology ATX Austrian Traded Index LGD loss given default BCBS Basel Committee on Banking LTRO longer-term refinancing operation Supervision (BIS) M3 broad monetary aggregate M3 BIS Bank for International Settlements MFI monetary financial institution BMF Bundesministerium fu‹r Finanzen — MO‹ AG Mu‹nze O‹ sterreich AG — Austrian Mint Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance MPC Monetary Policy Committee (ECB) BMPE Broad Macroeconomic Projection MRO main refinancing operation Exercise NCBs national central banks BSE bovine spongiform encephalopathy NIPE Narrow Inflation Projection Exercise CDG Christian Doppler Research Society OECD Organisation for Economic CEECs Central and Eastern European Co-operation and Development countries OeNB Oesterreichische Nationalbank CIT cash in transit OeBS Oesterreichische Banknoten- und CMIT Committee on Capital Movements and Sicherheitsdruck GmbH — Austrian Invisible Transactions (OECD) Banknote and Security Printing Works CRM credit risk measurement O‹ BB O‹ sterreichische Bundesbahnen — ECB European Central Bank federal railroad corporation Ecofin Council of Economic and Finance ORF O‹ sterreichischer Rundfunk — Ministers (EU) Austrian Broadcasting Corporation EFC Economic and Financial Committee POS point of sale (EU) RTGS Real-Time Gross Settlement EMAS Eco-Management and Audit Scheme STUZZA Studiengesellschaft fu‹r Zusammenar- EMU Economic and Monetary Union beit im Zahlungsverkehr G.m.b.H. — EONIA Euro OverNight Index Average Austrian Research Association EPC Economic Policy Committee (EU) for Payment Cooperation ERM II Exchange Rate Mechanism II (EU) SDR Special Drawing Right (IMF) ESCB European System of Central Banks TARGET Trans-European Automated Real-time EU European Union Gross settlement Express Transfer EURIBOR Euro Interbank Offered Rate Treaty Treaty establishing the European Eurostat Statistical Office of the European Community Communities UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications ECB European Central Bank System Fed Federal Reserve System (the central WIFO O‹ sterreichisches Institut
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