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Empresas y finanzas

ECB queries banks on Austria exposure after Heta move: sources


    VIENNA (Reuters) - A concerned European Central Bank has asked euro zone lenders to detail their exposure to Austria and provisions they plan to make after the country's financial watchdog halted debt repayments by a "bad bank" winding down defunct lender Hypo, financial sources told Reuters.

    The questionnaire sent to banks and a video conference to discuss the potential fallout underscore the sensitivity of Austria's path-breaking move to invoke new European rules on ensuring creditors, not just taxpayers, fund bailouts.

    "They are taking this seriously," one senior executive said of the ECB on the condition he not be identified.

    The ECB declined to comment.

    (Reporting by Michael Shields and Angelika Gruber in Vienna and John O'Donnell and Frank Siebelt in Frankfurt)