EBRD interested in recapitalisation of Komercijalna Banka
Serbian Minister of Finance Mladjan Dinkic opened today the international banking fair “Bank Expo 2006” and announced the recapitalisation of 25% of capital of Komercijalna Banka bank, in which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is interested.
Dinkic said that EBRD will enter Komercijalna Banka with a sum that is 2.8 times greater that the bank’s capital, which is the largest sum the institution will pay in southeastern Europe to become a minority shareholder of a bank. He said that the final decision will be made on March 21.
The Minister said that the new Law on mortgage has come into force today, which will make it possible to take out a mortgage on apartments and houses under construction when applying for a housing loan, although they don’t have a building licence.
The new Rule book on the fees for registration of mortgages for housing loans through the National Corporation for Housing Loan Insurance has also become effective today, making the fees 20 times lower than before.
Dinkic said that until now the registration of mortgage fee cost approximately 80,000 dinars, and as of today it will cost from 2,000 to 3,000 dinars.
Addressing the visitors at the banking fair, he said that the banking system reform in Serbia in the past five years has gone a long way and that savings in banks now amount to nearly €2.3 billion and are increasing by nearly €100 million monthly.
Dinkic said that in the last five years the number of banks has been reduced from 80 to 40 and today the balance sum of banks stands at nearly €9 billion, and approximately 26,000 people are employed in them.
This year, 70 exhibitors from Serbia-Montenegro and 12 from abroad are participating in the third international fair of banking Bank Expo 2006, and the fair will be open until March 1.