Brussels, 02/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 2 July, the European Commission temporarily approved a second capital injection of €382.9 million to Nova Ljubljanska Banka Group (NLB), the largest Slovenian bank. At the same time, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the bank's restructuring plan that was submitted after the first recapitalisation for €250 million in March 2011 (see EUROPE 10330). In particular, the Commission has doubts whether the proposed measures will enable the bank to become viable without continued state support, and is concerned that the bank's own contribution to the costs of restructuring may be insufficient. The Commission needs to verify that the plan foresees appropriate safeguards to limit the distortions of competition brought about by the state support. The new capital injection, which takes the form of a state subscription to €320m of contingent convertible instruments (type of hybrid instruments) and a direct injection of €62.9 million, will enable NLB to comply with the European Banking Authority (EBA) stress test requirements. The capital has been approved for six months, to give NLB and Slovenia time to submit an updated restructuring plan, taking due account of this additional state support. (FG/transl.fl)