Previously the president of the NLB's supervisory board, the 40-year-old Medja succeeds Božo Jašovič, who stepped down in December last year over disagreements with the state with regard to the sale of retailer Mercator.

Medja took over the struggling bank the day that parliament is expected to adopt a law setting up a bad bank in a bid to purge the balance sheets of top-tier banks, NLB foremost among them, of soured loans.

Purging of the bank's balances will therefore be a top priority, but he has said his key task will be to restore the bank's reputation.