January 24 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's Deposit Protection Fund (FZD) plans to start the payment of guaranteed deposits to the customers of troubled Invest Banka [MNG:IBMN] on January 28, the fund said.
The fund will pay a total of 22.58 million euro ($25.63 million) to 2,730 depositors, including 2,340 citizens, at the branch offices of Societe Generale Montenegro, Hipotekarna Banka and NLB Banka, FZD said in an announcement published on its website on Wednesday.
Eligible depositors are entitled to the payment of their guaranteed deposits for a period of three years after January 28, the fund said.
In December, Montenegro's central bank said it was placing Atlas Banka [MNG:ATBA] and Invest Banka under its temporary administration due to their poor financial condition, after audit results showed that the capital of the two lenders did not meet the minimum risk requirements.
A 45-day moratorium on all payments to depositors and other creditors by Atlas Banka and Invest Banka was imposed on December 10.
At the beginning of January, the central bank said it decided to revoke the banking licence of Invest Banka and launch bankruptcy proceedings against it, after the interim administrator found that the bank's financial position is negative, its solvency ratio is below one-quarter of the prescribed level and its liabilities are higher than assets.
Invest Banka had a loan portfolio of 29.4 million euro and a deposit portfolio of 37.9 million euro at the end of September. The capital of the bank amounted to 5.6 million euro.
The combined market share of the two banks is just above 6%, central bank governor Radoje Zugic said in December. A total of 16 banks are active in Montenegro.
($ = 0.881099 euro)