Brussels, 07/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 7 March, the European Commission authorised emergency recapitalisation of up to €250 million for the Slovenian bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), Slovenia's largest bank, in order to achieve an adequate level of capital for the establishment and to preserve financial stability in Slovenia. The authorisation is temporary until the Commission reaches a final decision on a restructuring plan for NLB which must be submitted by the Slovenia authorities within six months.
This capital increase, of which the Commission was notified in mid-January, was decided on the opinion of the Central Bank of Slovenia which formed the view that the bank must raise its capital levels to preserve an adequate level of Core Tier 1 capital. NLB will, then, will try to raise €250 million (equivalent to 1.6% of its risk-weighted assets) through a public offering of its shares, in two tranches. In the first tranche, existing shareholders will be offered the opportunity to subscribe to the entire €250 million of new shares, pro rata to their existing shareholdings. In the second tranche, any new shares not taken up by existing shareholders will be offered to the general public. The Slovenian State will participate in the emergency recapitalisation by purchasing new shares at least in proportion to its current shareholding (approximately 49%). The Commission temporarily authorised the measure, stating that it was well-targeted, limited to the minimum necessary and proportional. (F.G./transl.rt)