March 2 (SeeNews) - Croatia's majority state-owned Hrvatska Postanska Banka (HPB) [ZSE:HPB] said on Wednesday it is buying the local unit of Russia's Sberbank, Sberbank d.d., for 71 million kuna ($10.4 million/9.4 million euro).
HPB is acquiring 100% interest in Sberbank d.d. in the transaction, HPB said in a filing to the Zagreb bourse.
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The central resolution authority within the EU Banking Union, in cooperation with the Croatian central bank, took a decision to sell Sberbank d.d. to HPB to ensure the Croatia's financial stability, avoid economic disruptions and protect the public interest, the central bank said in a statement late on Tuesday as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued for a fifth day.
On Monday, the Croatian central bank put a two-day moratorium on Sberbank d.d. following European Central Bank's announcement that Austria-based Sberbank Europe, and its subsidiaries in Croatia and Slovenia, fail or are going to fail due to worsened liquidity as a result of the reputational impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sberbank Europe is wholly owned by Sberbank of Russia, whose majority shareholder is the Russian Federation (50% plus one voting share).
The sale means that from Wednesday Sberbank d.d. is going to be a fully liquid credit institution capable of fulfilling all of its obligations, the Croatian central bank said, adding that all deposits of citizens and companies, irrespective of their amount, are absolutely safe and will be available after the expiry of the moratorium.
HPB holds 5.56% of the assets of the Croatian banking system, which makes it the country's sixth largest bank.
HPB's shares traded at 825 kuna on Wednesday morning on the Zagreb brouse, up 5.77%. It was the most liquid share intraday with a turnover of almost 1.1 million kuna.
(1 euro=7.570 kuna)
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