Press release after the Meeting of the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia on 30 August 2013

1) The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia discussed current supervisory matters.
2) The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia discussed and approved the August 2013 summary of the performance of the banks in the current year, developments on the capital market and interest rates.

The majority of trends in the banking system’s balance sheets remain similar to the two previous months, although the pace of debt repayment by Slovenian banks to banks in the rest of the world is slowing favourably. After sharp deleveraging in previous months, net loan repayments to foreign banks were low in June, at EUR 8 million. The banks’ debt servicing liability to the rest of the world was also less than a year earlier. Slovenian banks will see EUR 1.7 billion fall due in the upcoming one-year period, equivalent to 21.5% of liabilities to foreign banks, of which the majority is at the banks under majority foreign ownership. This proportion is significantly lower than the figure of 29.4% as at 30 June 2012. After declining for three months, household deposits at banks recorded a renewed increase of EUR 20 million in June.

3) On the basis of guidelines from the European Banking Authority (EBA), the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia adopted amendments to five items of secondary legislation relating to the assessment of the qualifications of members of management boards and supervisory boards by banks and savings banks. Banks will now have to adopt and implement policies setting out the criteria of reputation, experience and governance to be met by candidates for positions on management boards and supervisory boards. These criteria will also represent substantive guidelines for all entities participating in the proposal, selection or appointment of candidates for the aforementioned positions, including the owners of banks and savings banks. This should contribute to strengthening corporate governance at banks and savings banks.
4) As it announced in its press release of 19 August 2013, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and with the assistance of foreign contractors and observers from the European Commission, the ECB and the EBA, the Bank of Slovenia has embarked on an asset quality review (AQR) and bottom-up stress tests at ten Slovenian banks.