Brussels, 09/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Slovenian prime minister, Alenka Bratusek, has called on Europeans to create conditions whereby Slovenia will be able, by itself, to solve its budgetary and financial difficulties - thus avoiding a financial bail-out.
“We can solve our problems by ourselves”, Bratusek said. In her view, the “EU must create the conditions allowing countries to solve their problems by themselves”. She went on to add that those speculating on a possible financial bailout for Slovenia should analyse the country's situation with facts (low unemployment) and figures (surplus current accounts) and not through speculation. Bratusek spoke of the initiatives already taken by her country, such as the creation of a “bad bank” that will manage toxic bank assets from June on. “The banking problem is problem number one”, she admitted.
Aware that Slovenia has a very difficult task ahead of it, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said he had faith in Ljubljana's ability to face up to the situation.
OECD urges improvements in banking sector. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) invited the Slovene authorities, on Tuesday 9 April, to put improving the national banking sector on its list of priorities. The country's three main banks, which hold €7 billion in impaired assets (i.e. 20% of GDP), are state-owned. In its report, the OECD recommends privatisation of the three establishments in question, which need own funds that could be significantly higher than foreseen. It recommends that recapitalisation be done through share issues and that, on the basis of stress tests, the non-viable banks be dismantled. The decision to create a “bad bank”, which would gather the toxic assets, is a good initiative, it adds, nonetheless evoking a “lack of transparency” in the bank's functioning and possible potential political interference. Furthermore, the OECD welcomes measures taken end 2012 and early 2013 for consolidating public finances but underlines that “the reduction of public and private sector indebtedness is significantly weighing on growth amid tight financial conditions, growing unemployment and stalling export performance”. The OECD predicts recession amounting to 2.1% of GDP in 2013 and a return to growth in 2014 (1.1%). (MB with EL/transl.jl)