February 24 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's central bank Banka Slovenije said Serbian lender AIK Banka is allowed to increase its stake in Slovenia's Gorenjska Banka to more than 50%.
The approval was given on Wednesday and allows AIK bank and its parent to control a stake of more than 50% in Gorenjska Banka, the Slovenian central bank said on its website.
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On Thursday, Serbian media reported that the European Central Bank (ECB) has given the green light to the acquisition of the entire capital of Gorenjska Banka by AIK Banka.
ECB officials did not confirm, nor denied the media reports when contacted by SeeNews on Thursday, saying in an e-mailed statement that the bank "does not comment on specific cases".
In January, AIK Banka, a subsidiary of Serbian vertically-integrated agro-industrial conglomerate MK Group, became the second largest shareholder in Gorenjska Banka with a 13.9% stake by investing almost 13 million euro in a share capital increase, needed by the small Slovenian lender to meet central bank requirements.
The Slovenian central bank said in June that AIK Banka was allowed to take control of a stake of between 10% and 20% in Gorenjska Banka. In November, a permit was issued to Serbian brokerage M&V Investments, a unit of MK Group, to indirectly control another shareholding of between 10% and 20% in the Slovenian lender.
Slovenia's central bank ordered in September indebted local conglomerate Sava [LJE:SAVA] to dispose of its 37.6% stake in Gorenjska Banka because it does not have the financial strength to give the lender the support it needs.
Gorenjska Banka was the last of eight lenders that failed Slovenia's stress tests in December 2013 to increase its capital and is on the list of supervised entities by the ECB.
Gorenjska Banka d.d. is among the biggest banks in SEE. You can download our SEE Top 100 ranking
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