State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Goran Radosavljevic told Bloomberg news agency yesterday that a report by the audit company KPMG showed "that Agrobanka has much higher capital needs than expected, and that about 50% of approved loans are in the category of problematic ones."
Radosavljevic said that the auditor's report had been made from the aspect of the worst-case scenario, so that it might turn our later that part of bad loans did not belong to the category of problematic ones after all.
According to his words, this agricultural bank will require an additional capital of minimum EUR 100 million in order to be able to function normally. Radosavljevic stressed that the Serbian government was of the opinion that Agrobanka "is important for the system and deserves to be saved."
When it comes to a solution for this bank, he pointed out that the government was ready to discuss the recapitalization plan with all other major shareholders.
- Funds in the budget are limited, but the recovery measures will definitely be implemented within the next six to nine months, and they include an assistance from the central bank in the form of a liquidity loan - said Radosavljevic.
- After that we can talk about finding a strategic partner, which can be one of the current shareholders or a new investor - he concluded.
Since the receivership was introduced, the price of Agrobanka shares on the Belgrade Stock Exchange has dropped significantly, and they have lost nearly 56% in value. At the latest price of RSD 1,500 a share, the market capitalization of this bank amounts to RSD 1.18 billion (EUR 11.2 million).
| 
| 
