TOMCIC AND RACAN ON RIJECKA BANKA AFFAIR

ZAGREB, April 12 (Hina) - Croatian parliamentary Speaker Zlatko Tomcic on Friday stated that he considered a statement by the leadership of the Croatian National Bank about their collective resignation if the parliament concludes that the HNB was in any way responsible for the Rijecka banka affair, as inappropriate. Prime Minister Ivica Racan said that the State Agency for Bank Rehabilitation (DAB) was responsible for the decision of whether to and when to sell the Rijecka banka. #L# Tomcic believes that HNB Governor Rohatinski's statement about his resignation was in fact an attempt to influence the parliament about any possible judgement it would make about the HNB's responsibility in the Rijecka banka. "It is inappropriate to threaten with collective resignations if the parliament discovers that there is any responsibility by the HNB. The times are too sensitive for the Croatian banking system and statements like this do not lead to resolving this problem. I would rather hear the governor's opinion on any possible responsibility and the standard of work invested by his associates", Tomcic told reporters. Asked if he was satisfied with the sale of Rijecka banka, Prime Minister Ivica Racan refrained from commenting. He did not agree with journalists that Rijecka banka was sold despite other coalition partners not agreeing with this move. Racan denied this saying that the attitude to sell the bank was quite clear. "The DAB is the body that should have evaluated the interests of the Republic of Croatia and whether it was necessarry to sell the bank immediately or later. If there is any danger that the value of the Band could decrease any future sale price than we could obtain today, then the sale should have proceeded as soon as possible. This was the DAB's estimate and there is nothing to add to this", Racan said. (hina) sp sb