NKBM Boss: "Stress Tests Too Pessimistic"?
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Hauc, who insists that the country's second biggest bank could also have been fixed with less capital, moreover stressed that the basic condition for economic recovery is met now, but that the main task, which is restoring growth, still lies ahead for the government.
He expressed regret for the erasure of existing share capital, but noted that it needed "to be considered that such a major recapitalisation would have destroyed the value of shares held by existing shareholders anyway".
Hauc pointed out that the bail-in principle had been adopted at the highest EU level and in Slovenia.
The NBKM management is planning a net profit for next year, while Hauc announced that "at the end of this year just under a hundred people less will be working at the bank than at year start, while additional reductions in the size of the workforce are expected in the coming years".
Hauc rejected accusations about NKBM refusing to provide credit, saying it was securing substantial credit "but to good companies, which are unfortunately very scarce in Slovenia presently".
"We believe that the government has to adopt as soon as possible a strategy on which sectors we need and use this is a basis for macroeconomic measures for kick-starting the economy...Otherwise banks will have nobody to lend to."
As regards the planned privatisation of NKBM, he said that following the capital injection the bank needs to be restructured seriously, made slimmer, economical and profitable.
"We believe that it is not ready for sale at this stage, but in 2014 we will launch activities to make it more successful and interesting for sale," Hauc said.