Economy

State aid: Commission temporarily approves rescue aid for Slovenian banks Factor banka d.d. and Probanka d.d.

Published

13 years ago

September 9, 2013

The European Commission has temporarily approved, under EU state aid rules, Slovenian plans to grant state guarantees on newly issued liabilities of the two Slovenian banks Factor banka d.d. and Probanka d.d. in the maximum amount of €540 million and €490 million respectively. The Commission concluded that the measures are necessary to preserve financial stability in Slovenia without unduly distorting competition. The Commission will take a final decision on the measures in the context of its assessment of the two banks' restructuring plans.

The Commission found that the state guarantees were necessary to preserve the stability of the financial system in Slovenia. They are in line with the Commission's communications on state aid for banks, and in particular with the requirements of Section 4 of the "New Banking Communication" in force since 1 August 2013 (see IP/13/672). In particular, they are limited to the minimum necessary, they are adequately remunerated and provide safeguards to minimise distortions of competition during the rescue period.

The measures have been designed to stabilise the liability side of the two banks' balance sheet and to reassure the markets. The measures are approved as temporary rescue aid for two months or until the Commission has adopted a final decision on a restructuring or orderly winding down plan of the two banks which Slovenia will submit within the next two months. This is standard procedure for the rescue and restructuring of banks, where at a first stage the Commission approves liquidity support on a temporary basis. No contribution from depositors or other senior debt holders of the two banks is required under EU state aid rules.

Background

Factor banka d.d. is a universal bank incorporated and domiciled in the Republic of Slovenia, it holds approximately 2.1% of the assets of the national banking system and total assets of around €911 million. The bank’s shares are not listed on any domestic or international stock exchange, but the bank’s bonds have been admitted for trading on the Ljubljana Stock exchange and Luxembourg stock exchange. The bank operates in mainly in Slovenia.

Probanka d.d. is a universal bank incorporated and domiciled in the Republic of Slovenia, it holds approximately 2.3% of the assets of the national banking system and total assets of around €973 million. The bank’s ordinary shares (representing 90.4% of the share capital) are not listed on a regulated market of securities, its preference shares (representing 9.6% of the share capital) are listed in the standard market of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. Certain series of bank’s bonds are listed on the bond market of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. The bank operates mainly in Slovenia.

More information is available under the case numbers SA.37314 (Probanka d.d.) and SA.37315 (Factor banka d.d.) in the State Aid Register on the competition website. New publications of state aid decisions are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.