HPB takes over Sberbank Croatia, clients can do business normally

The Croatian Postal Bank (HPB) has bought Sberbank Croatia for HRK 71 million and had there been liquidation, the damage would have been HRK 8 billion, which has been prevented, Croatian National Bank (HNB) governor Boris Vujčić said on Wednesday.

The HNB said last night that the Single Resolution Board had decided with the HNB as the national resolution authority to start the resolution of Sberbank Zagreb and that the HPB was the new owner.

Speaking at a press conference, the central bank's governor said that that was possible only by urgently selling the bank, otherwise liquidation would have meant the payment of insured deposit, a cost over HRK 3.8 billion, which would have resulted in the loss of a large share of corporate and uninsured deposits.

That would have been an economic damage of approximately HRK 8 billion, he added.

Vujčić said Sberbank had been very successful, with capital adequacy of almost 20%.

By this transaction, we'll have a very good, very capitalised, liquid, efficient bank... The deposits are now safe, both citizens' and the corporate sector's, said Vujčić.

He added that the name of the new bank would be known in the days ahead as Sberbank Croatia would change both name and logo. The merger with the HPB will not occur before the introduction of the euro, he added.

Since Thursday and the imposition of EU and US sanctions against Russia, retail depositors and businesses had withdrawn over €200 million from Sberbank Croatia.

Due to a rapid liquidity deterioration, the European Central Bank announced on Monday that Sberbank Croatia "is failing or likely to fail" and notified the Single Resolution Board (SRB), the central resolution authority within the Banking Union. The SRB adopted a decision on a two-day moratorium on the operations of Sberbank Croatia, which ended at midnight on Tuesday. A decision on launching its resolution was made before the expiry.

Sberbank Europe said in early November that it was selling its subsidiaries in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia to Serbia's AIK Banka, Slovenia's Gorenjska Banka, and Agri Europe Cyprus Limited.

Vujčić said they had contacted AIK, which is in the licencing process, adding that "everything is clear" to AIK and that he does not expect any problems.

Plenković: We have invested maximum effort

Speaking at the same press conference, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said liquidation would have had negative repercussions for depositors, the bank and Croatia's finance system as the Croatian Deposit Insurance Agency would have had to pay HRK 3.8 billion in insured deposits.

He said the government and the HNB had invested maximum effort and coordinated activities with the SRB for what happened yesterday.

The HPB was willing to take over Sberbank, which comforts all depositors, so there is no need for anyone to withdraw their money in Sberbank, he added.

"In this way, we have shown once again not only that our response was good politically and in principle, but also financially and economically well," he said.

FinMin: Gov't stands behind national financial system

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said that the government stood behind the national financial system and Croatian citizens and depositors and therefore had made this timely and resolute move. 

He also said that the HPB portfolio would be thus boosted.

Marić said that the government, as a majority owner, had sent clear instructions to the HPB management to find certain reserves and make this step on the market.

Text: Hina

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