Brokerage Ilirika announced on Thursday that AIK Banka acquired a 6.8% from the Bank Asset Management Company (BAMC), which was originally part of a consortium selling a combined 55% in Gorenjska Banka.

Ilirika said the acquirer would continue buying shares in accordance with the regulations once the regulatory conditions are met for the acquisition of an additional interest.

The Serbian bank has the clearance from the Slovenian central bank for up to 33% in Gorenjska Banka, while the Serbian regulator has declined to give it a clearance for a takeover.

Not having all regulatory approvals, AIK Banka was unable to buy Sava's stake in the Slovenian bank although the deal had already been agreed.

Under a new proposal put forward to the Sava shareholders' meeting on 22 June, Sava could sell its stake in the bank to secured creditors at EUR 298 per share.

According to the list of creditors under Sava's compulsory debt settlement, endorsed in late 2016, the largest secured creditors are Slovenian Sovereign Holding, the affiliated KAD fund and the Luxembourg-based York Fund, all of which are the biggest shareholders of Sava.

Sava is to sell the stake in Gorenjska Banka to its creditors because its voting rights in the bank have been suspended by the central bank.

As a result AIK Banka controls enough voting rights to take control of the supervisory board at the upcoming shareholders' meeting without actually taking over the bank.

Gorenjska banka is one of the most successful and profitable Slovenian banks and the only major bank to do without a state-supplied capital injection in 2013 despite a significant capital shortfall.

It had a market share of assets of 4.7% at the end of September 2017, totalling EUR 1.73bn, which makes it the seventh largest bank in Slovenia.