ZAGREBACKA BANKA ENDS 2002 SUCCESSFULLY

ZAGREB, Dec 12 (Hina) - The business year 2002 was a successful one for the Zagrebacka Banka (ZABA) Group, and was marked by three very important events for Croatia's banking, the successful transition to the euro, the take-over of domestic payment transactions, and the strategic merger with UniCredito and Allianz, ZABA deputy board chairman Nikola Kalinic told reporters on Thursday. #L# In a year of exceptionally increased competitiveness on the domestic market, ZABA has managed to sustain its position as a bank with the largest amount of assets, those of the Group exceeding 50 billion kuna and ZABA's 30 billion kuna, said Kalinic. This year the bank granted 22 million kuna worth of loans, while deposits reached 39.3 billion kuna. Kalinic said that the year had also been marked by significant technological progress in the bank's work, and stressed that more than 60 percent of all transactions were executed outside of ZABA sub-branches, i.e. via automatic teller machines or Internet Banking. ZABA's five investment funds also had a successful year. They have been entrusted with property worth 1.4 billion kuna, as well as the AZ pension fund, which makes up for more than 40 percent of the Croatian pension funds market, Kalinic said. (hina) lml sb