Banking

Ljubljana – Banka Sparkasse, the Slovenian subsidiary of the Austrian banking group Erste Group, increased its total assets by more than a fifth to EUR 1.6 billion last year, which compares to 8% growth in the country’s baking system.

Ljubljana – The shareholders of the Slovenian subsidiary of Russia’s Sberbank, which was acquired by Slovenia’s largest bank NLB in March, formally decided on Monday to rename the subsidiary N Banka.

Bulgaria is second in Europe after Romania in the number of cash payments, according to statistics from 'Global Findex'. In our country, 63% of transactions are made with cash, and in our neighbor - over 78%.

Customers wait in long queues in a Sberbank branch in Sarajevo. Photo: BIRN

In Bosnia, many wanted to withdraw their money, fearing the loss of their savings. Bank officials are giving dates to customers if they want to withdraw large sums due to high demand.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Nov. 22 provided a $25 million loan to Garanti BBVA Leasing for on-lending to eligible companies looking to invest in greater sustainability.

Turkish state-owned lenders Ziraat, Vakıfbank and Halkbank have lowered loan interest rates between 50 and100 basis points on Nov. 19.

After the Central Bank cut its benchmark rate from 16 percent to 15 percent on Nov. 18, the three banks decided to follow suit.

KBC Bank (KBC) and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) have announced that they have reached an agreement with a Belgian-based banking group to acquire 100% of the shares of Raiffeisen (Bulgaria) EAD, which conducts banking operations on the side of RBI.

The Turkish Central Bank raised reserve requirement ratios for foreign currency and precious metal deposit accounts on Nov. 8.

Announcing the move in the Official Gazette, the bank increased the ratio by 200 basis points for all such accounts.

Kranj – Gorenjska Banka, the Slovenian bank owned by the Serbian AIK Banka, has signed a deal to acquire the Slovenian subsidiary of the Russian Sberbank. Pending approval by regulators, the merger would create the third largest banking group in the country.

TUSIAD President Simone Kaslowski. Photo: TUSIAD

"The independence of regulatory and supervisory institutions, the Central Bank in particular, should be unquestionable," Tuncay Ozilhan, president of the Advisory Council of TUSIAD said at a TUSIAD event.