No crisis here

Czech bankers can thank Václav Kočka Jr. for taking one for the team, without even being part of it. The murder of the non- banker on Thur. drew attention away from the dire situation on the European financial markets. If distracted depositors failed to understand the gravity of the situation on Fri., Czech bankers certainly did not. Instead of sending out their usual talking heads, one GM after another - first ČS's Gernot Mittendorfer, then ČSOB's Pavel Kavánek, then Raiffeisen's Lubor Žalman, then UniCredit's Jiří Kunert - appeared on Czech TV. Their calming words contrasted somewhat with what CNB Gov. Zdeněk Tůma told HN on Aug. 29 about the possibility of bank losses next year due to provisioning requirements. Before depositors and the mass media start speculating about which banks might be affected, bankers might need to shore up their accounts. Kočka has given them some breathing room. [Czech Republic Česká spořitelna Erste Television Raiffeisenbank Czech National Bank governor]