Solution for Ljubljanska Bank by the End of the Year?

Croatian and Slovenian financial experts Zdravko Rogić and France Arhar stated at today’s meeting that if the two governments accept their conclusions, they would propose a way to resolve the issue of old foreign currency savings at the former main branch of Ljubljanska Bank in Zagreb at the next meeting, which is expected to be held by the end of this year.

Rogić and Arhar, in statements to the media after their fourth meeting, said they continue to advocate for the reactivation of negotiations at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel and that they will convey to their governments their conclusion that the concept of a solution with multilateral and bilateral components, outlined at the last meeting, is a good path. If both governments agree, they would propose a way to resolve the issue of old foreign currency savings of Ljubljanska Bank at the next meeting, which, according to unofficial announcements, should be held by the end of this year in Slovenia.

In statements to the media after today’s meeting in Zagreb, Zdravko Rogić said they have made a recap of this problem and concluded that what they worked on at the last meeting in Bled is a good path.

– We made a recap of the entire issue that has been ongoing for a long time and concluded that what we worked on in Bled, which is the concept of a solution that has a multilateral and bilateral component, is a good path – said Rogić.

– We remain of the opinion that we are ready to personally engage in reactivating negotiations at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, and we are also very interested in making the contours of the bilateral solution we outlined in Bled (…) even clearer – Rogić stated today.

He added that Arhar and he agreed to inform their governments again about this and that in case of a positive response, they would concretize the way to resolve this long-standing problem and propose a solution at the next meeting.

Arhar also emphasized that the two sides continue to seek a solution that will be “clear and loud” to both sides, which also implies a bilateral solution, ‘as one state with another’.

– Our views are different, but there remains hope that even with these different views a common solution could be found – said Arhar, adding that both financial experts believe that ‘it is worth investing additional time’ to see how these different views can be brought under a common denominator.