The Credit-Anstalt The serious condition into which Austrian finance has
drifted is shown by the suspension of the great Viennese bank, the Credit-Anstalt, and the failure of a private Austrian bank with liabilities of a million pounds. To save the Credit-Anstalt and prevent a crisis in Austria that might ham grave political as well as economic consequences an international committee has been formed, representing the leading British, American, French, Dutch, and other European banks, and the Bank for International Settlements is proving its useful- ness. The Austrian Government is securing Parlia- mentary approval of its guarantee for the foreign loans which the Credit Anstalt must secure if it is to resume business. The readiness of the great banks to come to the rescue is noteworthy. International co-operation in finance has clearly become more prompt and more prac- tical than before. But the difficulties of Austrian finance show that the little new Republic finds it uncommonly hard to stand alone, and may well desire that union with Germany which, for political reasons, Austria's other neighbours oppose. * * * *
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