AUA talks with COFAG are “constructive”

After the initial turmoil in the AUA negotiations, the talks are apparently underway. Experts on both sides are in constant contact, public relations consultant Alfred Autischer, speaking for the crown aid funding agency COFAG, said Wednesday in the APA. There is not much liquidity aid anymore, he referred to “constructive talks.”

AUA needs an Austrian internal bank to apply for COFAG. Due to the amount, rumored up to 800 million euros, it will probably be a consortium, that is, an association of several banks that share the risk. The Republic is responsible for 90 percent of the loan in the form of a guarantee. According to the COFAG spokesperson, there have already been requests from 4,000 companies to the agency, which manages 15 of the 38 billion euros in state aid.

At the same time, AUA will hold second-tier talks on a location guarantee between the government and the German owner, Lufthansa AG in Frankfurt. On the Austrian side, as the APA discovered, a negotiating team with experts is currently being formed to contact the Lufthansa Executive Board. It should be ready next week. In addition, it also coordinates with other countries such as Belgium or Switzerland, in which Lufthansa also has subsidiary airlines.

COFAG processes various forms of guarantee in the background. For large companies, this is up to 120 million euros, in exceptional cases such as the AUA it may be more. The control bank (OeKB) participates in large companies, the aws development bank in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the hotel and tourism bank (ÖHT) in tourism and leisure businesses. The contact person for companies needing help is the internal bank.