"It is of course not pleasant that the ruble drop will hit Austria as well - for instance, in tourism," he was quoted as saying by Der Standard in an in interview published on Thursday.

Some Austrian ski resorts have complained a decline in bookings by Russian customers even before the latest decline in the Russian currency.

Banks such as Raiffeisen Bank International (>> Raiffeisen Bank International AG) and UniCredit's Bank Austria (>> UniCredit SpA) rely on Russia for profits, but Schelling said he did not expect any would need government help because of Russia's deteriorating economy.

"It affects all the banks, no question, but I doubt at the moment that there is really a problem," he said.

Raiffeisen and UniCredit both said this week their Russian businesses were holding up well despite the economic crisis in Russia, where Western sanctions and falling oil prices have caused the rouble to plunge.

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Larry King)

Stocks treated in this article : Raiffeisen Bank International AG, UniCredit SpA