Croatia's HPB to launch merger of former Sberbank unit

The plan is in line with the approval for a formal legal and business merger of Nova Hrvatska Banka granted by HPB shareholders on August 29, HPB said in a filling to the Zagreb bourse on Tuesday.

In March, HPB announced that it was acquiring Sberbank d.d., for a total cash consideration of 71 million kuna ($10 million/9.4 million euro), after the European Central Bank warned that Sberbank's subsidiaries in Croatia and Slovenia are failing or likely to fail due to worsened liquidity as a result of Russia's assault on Ukraine.

HPB took control of Sberbank d.d. on April 14 and changed its name to Nova Hrvatska Banka (NHB).

Earlier, HPB said that the merger of the two banks is planned to take place following the adoption of the euro currency in Croatia on January 1, 2023.

HPB's shares traded 0.63% lower at 790 kuna on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon.

(1 euro=7.544 Croatian kuna)