ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - The Croatian National Parliament's House of Representatives on Friday adopted a law on annulling the law on rehabilitation and restructuring of banks and did not accept the upper house's negative opinion that
had not endorsed the new law. Deputy Finance Minister Damir Kustrak, who explained the new bill on behalf of the Government that proposed the annulment of the bank rehabilitation law, said the rescinding of the law which stipulated rehabilitation of banks did not mean that the state would no longer have obligations towards ensured savings. On this basis, the Republic of Croatia owes 2.4 billion kuna (approximately 286 million US dollars) to depositors from bankrupt banks, Kustrak added. During a parliamentary discussion on making the bank rehabilitation law no longer valid, Djuro Njavro of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) described the new proposed law as
ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - The Croatian National Parliament's House of
Representatives on Friday adopted a law on annulling the law on
rehabilitation and restructuring of banks and did not accept the
upper house's negative opinion that had not endorsed the new law.
Deputy Finance Minister Damir Kustrak, who explained the new bill
on behalf of the Government that proposed the annulment of the bank
rehabilitation law, said the rescinding of the law which stipulated
rehabilitation of banks did not mean that the state would no longer
have obligations towards ensured savings. On this basis, the
Republic of Croatia owes 2.4 billion kuna (approximately 286
million US dollars) to depositors from bankrupt banks, Kustrak
added.
During a parliamentary discussion on making the bank
rehabilitation law no longer valid, Djuro Njavro of the Croatian
Democratic Union (HDZ) described the new proposed law as "a brave
movement of the Government." He, however, said he did not believe
that possible collapse of some banks in future would not be a part of
the burden on the shoulders of tax payers.
Njavro claimed that about 80 percent of 50 billion kuna (some $6
billion), spent since 1991 for the recovery of banks, was used for
the rehabilitation of failures inherited from the former Yugoslav
banking system and economy, and since 1995 only 20 percent was used
for the "post-war" recovery of Croatian banks.
The debate rekindled confrontation between the strongest
opposition party HDZ and the ruling six-party coalition that
defeated this party at the recent elections.
Branislav Tusek of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said that with
drafting the new law the Government stopped violations of
Constitutional norms about the Croatian citizens' equality and
prevented possible abuse in the banking system which the former
Government used to commit.
Drago Krpina of the HDZ strongly opposed this remark. According to
Krpina, the basic problem in the banking system is the fact that
Croatian banks were privatised in line with the old Yugoslav
"Markovic's" law (Markovic was the last Prime Minister of the
former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or SFRY) and this
made it possible for some to grant, in an arbitrary manner,
management buy-out loans.
SDP deputies responded to Krpina's claims, and Nenad Stazic
concluded that responsibility should be pinned on those who
approved risky crediting and those who ordered such moves.
(hina) jn ms