The existing shareholders had a pre-emptive right to buy new shares in the first round between 21 August and 3 September. Out of 7,142,858 new shares, they bought 99,163 at seven euros a piece.

The remaining 7,043,695 newly issued shares are now available to existing shareholders and external investors until 12 September, Abanka Vipa stated in a press release posted on the web site of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.

The management expects that the bank's major shareholders will participate in the second round of the offering and that they will inject fresh capital into the bank.

The biggest three shareholders - the state-owned insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav, chemicals-through tourism conglomerate Sava and the bank Gorenjska banka - own a combined 71% in Abanka Vipa.

The bank, which is hoping to raise up to EUR 50m in fresh capital, said the operation would enable it to improve its capital adequacy ratio, prepare to meet higher Basel III standards and to create the capital basis for further implementation of its business strategy.