SEVEN BANKS, ONE FUND EXPRESSS INTEREST IN BUYING RIJECKA BANKA

ZAGREB, March 22 (Hina) - The State Agency for the Insurance of Savings Deposits and Bank Rehabilitation (DAB) will invite eight interested parties - seven banks and one fund - to submit their binding offers for the purchase of Rijecka Banka within ten days, Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic said on Friday. #L# This decision was adopted by the DAB management at a meeting held at at the government today. The DAB also confirmed a decision on the state buying 59.9 percent of the bank's shares from Bayerische Landesbank, one of the bank's majority owners, at a price of one dollar. DAB director Marinko Filipovic and Berhard Oswald and Norbert Palsa of Bayerische Landesbank this morning signed a contract making the state, which so far held 25 percent of the bank's stock, the owner of 85 percent of the shares. The signing of the contract followed the meeting of the DAB management, which, along with the decision on the purchase of shares, also decided on the sale of Rijecka Banka. A letter will be sent today to eight potential buyers who have expressed interest in buying the bank. The interested parties will have to submit their binding offers by noon on April 3, Granic said. According to unofficial information, the potential buyers are HVB, Hypo Alpe Adria Banka, Commercial Bank Zagreb, Raiffeisen Banka, Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank, Volksbank, KBC, and the Charlemagne Capital fund. All but Belgium's KBC have been present on the Croatian market for some time. According to previous estimates by the Croatian National Bank, the new owner will have to recapitalise the bank with 40-60 million euros. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) yesterday offered the government to recapitalise the bank until a new owner is found, but given the expressed interest, the offer was declined, Granic said. (hina) rml