BELGRADE (Serbia), May 8 (SeeNews) – Serbia's central bank has given permission to local AIK Banka [BEL:AIKB] to acquire a stake in Slovenian lender Gorenjska Banka held by Slovenian business group Sava, local media reported.
The central bank, at the request of AIK Banka, has allowed the Serbian lender to become owner of up to 100% of its Slovenian peer, news portal Tanjug reported on Monday.
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Currently, AIK holds a 21% stake in Gorenjska Banka and Sava controls 37.65%. Slovenia's ‘bad bank’, the Bank Assets Management Company (DUTB), holds 6.8%, Slovenian insurer Triglav owns 4% and the remainder is in the hands of small shareholders.
Last week, business group Sava said its management board did not give its consent to the sale because AIK Banka had not submitted all the documents required for the transaction.
On April 16, Sava gave AIK Banka until end April to provide written proof that it has obtained consent from Serbia's central bank, Slovenia's central bank and the European Central Bank for the deal. However, AIK Banka failed to do so.
Sava was ordered to sell its stake in Gorenjska by Slovenia's central bank in 2016. The business conglomerate is a member of a consortium of Gorenjska Banka shareholders formed in July 2016 with the intent to sell a combined holding of over 50%.
In February last year, Slovenia's central bank gave the green light to AIK Banka to increase its stake in Gorenjska Banka to more than 50%.
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