During a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday, HNB Governor Zeljko Rohatinski reiterated that the central bank had proclaimed the concentration of the Zagrebacka and Splitska banks as unlawful and ordered their owner Unicredito to sell one of them within an appropriate time frame.
Rohatinski declined to say what would be the appropriate time frame as this would affect the price. He only added that the there would be enough time to avert possible market implications.
The HNB also informed Unicredito which financial institutions could not be the buyers as they would change the legal limits on the leading position of three or five banks on the Croatian market.
This refers to the five leading banks in Croatia other than the two mentioned above: Privredna Banka Zagreb, Raiffeisen Bank, Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank, Hypo Bank and the OTP Bank.
The central bank would have nothing against a Croatian consortium buying either bank, but it must be a serious consortium with serious intentions and capacity to manage a bank the size of Splitska Banka, the HNB Governor said.
In this context, Rohatinski cautioned that Unicredito would probably agree on the sale of the bank in a relatively short period at a price three times higher than the nominal value of Splitska Banka's capital.
This offers little space and time for the establishment of the consortium and its engagement in the public tender, he added.