The growing economic crisis in central and eastern Europe is affecting Austrian banks, which have a massive exposure in the region. But the banks are better placed to weather the storm than rival institutions and are committed to remaining, according to the governor of the Austrian National Bank.

Ewald Nowotny told the Financial Times that Erste Bank, Raiffeisen International and the Unicredit subsidiary Bank Austria “were the first to move into these markets, so they now have a comparatively strong loan portfolio”.