There are several potential buyers, all of them foreign banks, Diners said in the aftermath of a report by the business daily Finance that Austrian Erste Bank was the most likely taker.

Due diligence procedures are nearing completion and they will serve as the basis for the subsequent decisions by the owner and the creditors, the company said.

In the meantime, Diners has formally asked for a new licence in order to "restart normal business" and it will seek to get fresh capital.

"The new owner realizes Diners Club will not be able to operate in Slovenia until it has fully paid all the merchants," the company said.

Talks with merchants are ongoing under the auspices of the Chamber of Trade (TZS).

The central bank took some flak from Diners for its decision to revoke the licence, but Vice-governor Darko Bohnec said today the decision was correct and in the interest of the merchants.

"We assessed the circumstances and acted accordingly," he said on the margins of a presentation of the central bank's Financial Stability Report.