Case study Heta

The nationalization of the Hypo Group Alpe Adria in Austria was the first case-study scrutinised - it is a resolution via an asset management vehicle: Heta. The bail-in decision imposed a haircut on senior debt of 54% when the asset management vehicle could not pay its debt and a provisional valuation report concluded that Heta was failing. The resolution was approved by the Financial Market Authority in Austria based on the FOLTF and public interest test. It concluded that the resolution of Heta guaranteed financial market stability, protected tax payers and enabled a bail-in for creditors, and thereof followed the European resolution regime. NCWOL calculations via an independent appraisal showed a hypothetical insolvency scenario in favour of bail-in over liquidation. Several customers submitted the case to the Constitutional Court in Austria because of a violation of the fundamental right to property and the infringement of the ‘pari passu’ principle. The court confirmed that the resolution and restructuring was in the public interest and the haircut was justified. The right to property and a claim to the pari passu principle were rejected because there was a tangible distinction between normal creditors and junior creditors.