Pool of creditors files EUR 1 billion lawsuit against HETA

Today the EAA, as a member of a pool of eleven creditors, filed a lawsuit against HETA Asset Resolution AG (HETA), Klagenfurt with the District Court of Frankfurt am Main. The plaintiffs are demanding the repayment of an aggregate amount of approximately EUR 1 billion. The spokesperson for the pool is Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland AG. HETA is the winding-down entity of the former Hypo Alpe Adria-Bank International AG, which was acquired by the Republic of Austria in 2009 to avert insolvency.

The creditors organised in the pool – banks, especially Pfandbrief banks, insurance companies, asset managers and public entities – hold bonds and promissory note loans issued by HETA or its predecessor between 2002 and 2007. In addition to HETA, the Austrian State of Carinthia and Kärntner Landesholding are liable for meeting the creditors’ claims on the basis of a statutory assumption of liability. The EAA’s exposure to HETA currently amounts to approximately EUR 70 million.

Together with the other pool members, the EAA had previously initiated the enforcement of its rights in Austria by filing opposition (“Vorstellung”) against the moratorium imposed by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) on 1 March 2015.