ZAGREBACKA BANK YIELDS US$ 36.5 MILLION PROFIT IN 1996

ZAGREB, June 10 (Hina) - The Zagrebacka Bank yielded the profit of 219 million kuna (US$ 36.5 million) in 1996, which was by 76 percent higher than the profit in 1995, the bank's managing board president Franjo Lukovic said at the annual general assembly of the bank, held in Zagreb on Tuesday. Lukovic described June's sale of 10 per cent of the Bank's shares to foreign financial investors as last year's most important event for the bank. The general assembly decided to pay 62.5 million kuna (or approximately 10.4 million dlrs) in dividends to shareholders, whereas the rest of the profit, that amounts to about 156 million kuna (or approximately 26 million dlrs), would be distributed to Bank's reserves. The general assembly re-elected Jaksa Barbic to be the its president and Ivan Soric to be its vice -president in next two-year term. A Croatian Vice Premier, Borislav Skegro, who attended the assembly, congratulated the Bank's managing board members for last year's success. (hina) jn mš 101842 MET jun 97