The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) has rejected the request of Nova Ljubljanska Banka for the issuance of approval to acquire a qualifying stake of 75.1 percent in the leasing company Optima leasing d.o.o., Zagreb.
The decision of Hanfa to reject this request from NLB was published in the Narodne novine on December 23. In deciding on this request, Hanfa, based on the data it possesses regarding the legal position, as well as the actions taken by Nova Ljubljanska Banka, was guided by the assessment and analysis of legal and financial risks that could significantly affect the operations of Optima leasing, to the extent that these risks could jeopardize the operations of this leasing company.
The decision states that the risk of the legal or financial position of Nova Ljubljanska Banka as the acquirer of a qualifying stake in Optima leasing arises from a dispute regarding a debt related to unpaid foreign currency savings with Croatian citizens who are depositors of Ljubljanska Banka d.d., the outcome of that dispute, and the potential settlement of creditors. Hanfa assesses these circumstances as legal and financial risks for the safe and stable operation of Optima leasing in the Republic of Croatia.
Furthermore, due to the proceedings of Ljubljanska Banka against Croatian depositors which is the subject of the dispute, Hanfa believes that trust among potential users of financial services towards companies, providers of financial services that are, in any way, significantly connected with Nova Ljubljanska Banka has been seriously undermined in Croatia. Provisions of the Law on the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency are cited, according to which one of the fundamental goals of Hanfa is to promote and preserve the stability of the financial system, and one of the principles in achieving these fundamental goals is also the principle of building trust among participants in the financial market.
