August 15 (SeeNews) - A law shielding Slovenia's Nova Ljubljanska banka (NLB) from lawsuits launched by former Croatian clients over repayment of Yugoslav-era savings deposits entered into force on August 14, the Slovenian finance ministry said.
According to the law, the negative financial consequences borne by NLB as a result of the forced execution of final decisions issued by Croatian courts will be compensated from the Slovenian Succession Fund, helping neutralise the impact of unfavourable court decisions on the price of the bank, the ministry said on Tuesday.
Last week, the European Commission approved a new Slovenian commitment package for NLB, under which the government will sell at least 50% plus one share in the bank by the end of 2018, while further reducing its stake to 25% plus one share by the end of 2019.
At the same time, the Commission found that Slovenia's law shielding NLB does not contain elements of state aid.
In February, Slovenian media reported that NLB settled at least two claims in Croatia related to Yugoslav-era savings deposits. This development was seen as potentially damaging by the Slovenian government, which fears contingent liabilities will reach into hundreds of millions of euro, the media reported at the time.
NLB was created in 1994 to protect itself from the liabilities incurred by Ljubljanska Banka - the defunct bank from which NLB originated. The bank was taken to court in Croatia over the deposits repaid to the bank's former customers in Croatia by two Croatian banks. The deposits became Croatia's public debt, for which the country then decided to seek compensation in court.
Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. is among the biggest banks in SEE. You can download our SEE Top 100 ranking
here or subscribe to our free Top 100 newsletter
here