Austria’s takeover of HGAA has put the relative weakness of the European banking system back in the spotlight. Lending to the Balkans looks to have been the bank’s undoing.
It is a bit ironic that the Austrian’s were forced to bail out a relatively large bank on the day that the poster child for the credit crisis, Citigroup, sheds the yoke of the TARP and government ownership.
EUR/USD has taken on an easier tone. Sovereign bids are eyed in the 1.4630 area and again toward 1.4600
