The group's operations continue to suffer under high impairments caused by a growing credit risk in banking, the bank said in a press release on Friday. Net impairments and provisions amounted to EUR 95.7m in the first three quarters.

The group's total assets were down to EUR 5bn at the end of September, which was a 5.7% drop over December 2012.

The assets continued to shrink in the third quarter, but this was anticipated in the restructuring plan that is currently being reviewed by the European Commission, the press release said.

The group's capital adequacy was at 8.39% at the end of September, the bank said, adding that it had been implementing measures needed to guarantee capital adequacy also in the expected stress test results.

The bank has also drafted a strategy through 2018 which focuses on solid operations at home and in the region, security of operations, the quality of portfolio and risk management.

Chairman Aleš Hauc said in the press release that the bank continued to implement streamlining measures. The business results of Slovenia's second biggest bank were discussed today by its supervisory board.

Hauc expects this year' business results to be in the red. The extent of the loss will depend on impairments and provisions, which are expected to be revealed in the stress test results in mid December.

The chairman moreover said that the NKBM core company as well as the group will break even next year, unless the economic situation deteriorates significantly or the EU sets new demands.