ZAGREB, March 19 (Hina) - Croatian vice-Premier Slavko Linic in Tuesday informed members of parliament that shareholders, not taxpayers, would suffer damages caused by embezzlement at Rijecka banka. Clients are not at risk because the
bank crisis will probably be solved through financial restructuring, for which a strategic investor is being sought, Linic said.
ZAGREB, March 19 (Hina) - Croatian vice-Premier Slavko Linic in
Tuesday informed members of parliament that shareholders, not
taxpayers, would suffer damages caused by embezzlement at Rijecka
banka. Clients are not at risk because the bank crisis will probably
be solved through financial restructuring, for which a strategic
investor is being sought, Linic said. #L#
Damage has been estimated at 80 million to 100 million US dollars,
but the exact amount will be established through audit and
inspection by the Croatian National Bank, Linic said.
At the request of MPs of the Istrian Democratic Assembly and
Croatian Democratic Union, parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic
asked Linic to inform the parliament about yesterday's agreement
between the bank's two largest shareholders -- the Croatian
government and Bayerische Landesbank.
The crisis was solved with an agreement that Bayerische Landesbank
give up 60 percent of its shares to the Croatian state, and the
government would carry out the financial reconstruction of Rijecka
banka, said Linic.
The bank's losses would thus be covered, he said. Clients or the
bank's liquidity would not be affected by the embezzlement, but
rather the shareholders, said Linic.
He said that the bank's capital and reserves were larger than the
damage caused, but an injection of 40 million US dollars was
necessary for the bank to survive.
The government is currently discussing the selection of a possible
new strategic investor who would become the majority owner of
Rijecka banka by assuming the obligation of its rehabilitation,
Linic said.
Asked by Vladimir Seks of the HDZ whether the bank would be
rehabilitated with taxpayers' money, Linic replied that the
Bayerische Landesbank had lost 75 million US dollars by giving back
its shares to Croatia, while the Croatian state had lost 30 million
dollars with the fall of the value of shares.
The money, Linic said, would not be paid from the government budget,
but Croatia would not earn anything either, since it could not sell
shares which "simply are not there".
(hina) lml sb