Ljubljana - NLB bank is completing the integration of Komercijalna Banka, a Serbian bank it bought in 2020. It has received regulatory approval for the legal merger of Komercijalna with NLB's existing branch in Serbia, while the operational merger will take place over the weekend.

"This is the first of the last steps in this long and demanding process of merging NLB Banka Beograd and Komercijalna Banka Beograd into NLB Komercijalna Banka," NLB CEO Blaž Brodnjak was quoted as saying in Friday's press release.

He said the merged bank would remain committed to its strategic goal of strengthening its service and market leadership position in Serbia, while the NLB Group remained committed to maintaining its leadership position through the region.

According to Brodnjak, NLB is "closely monitoring developments in our home region, South-eastern Europe, and would not shy away from analysing and addressing eventual value accretive opportunities also for M&A-based growth."

NLB acquired an 83.2% stake in Komercijalna Banka in February 2020 for close to EUR 395 million. The outstanding shares were acquired in a March 2021 takeover bid.