Press release: Termination of special administration at Factor banka and Probanka

On 9 February 2016 the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia issued a decision on the termination of special administration at Factor banka and Probanka, because the special administrations had met the objectives of the extraordinary measures imposed to strengthen the stability of the financial system. Begun on 6 September 2013, the bank’s orderly wind-down processes were thus completed, all depositors of the two banks having been repaid. With the decision on the termination of special administration the Bank of Slovenia’s power to exercise the powers of the supervisory board and general meeting of the two banks was terminated as well. 

At the same time the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia established that the conditions for the lapsing of the two banks’ authorisations to provide banking services had been met by law, The Bank of Slovenia will inform the ECB of the lapse of these authorisations in line with the tasks conferred on the ECB with the SSM regulation. The decisions were delivered to the two banks on 10 February 2016.

Prior to this the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia had discussed and approved the two banks’ audited annual reports for the 2015 financial year and the audited interim reports as at 1 January 2016, and in this connection had approved the supervisory board reports reviewing the two banks’ intended absorption into the BAMC. According to the audited annual report for 2015, as at 31 December 2015 Factor banka had EUR 1.3 million of equity and EUR 16 million of unexploited recapitalisation capacity in accordance with European Commission state aid decision SA.37643 (2013/N) – Slovenia of 18 December 2013, while Probanka had negative equity of EUR 9.9 million and EUR 60 million of unexploited recapitalisation capacity in accordance with European Commission state aid decision SA.37642 (2013/N) – Slovenia of 18 December 2013.

All subsequent procedures in connection with the governance of the two undertakings, including a decision on their planned absorption into the BAMC, fall under the competence of the owner, namely the Republic of Slovenia. The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia believes that the absorption of the two undertakings into the BAMC will ensure the streamlining of operations; the absorption primarily entails a longer period for redeeming the assets of the transferred undertakings, thereby increasing the returns and reducing the likelihood of an additional capital burden on the owner, i.e. on taxpayers.