Business corner
Interesting news from the world of corporate banking, entrepreneurship and economy related with personal savings. Other topics such as cluster development and investment projects are also included.
One open financial issue has troubled Croatia - Slovenia international relations for decades. Croatia welcomed the final ruling of the European Court of Human Rights over a case of Yugoslav-era foreign currency deposits in the defunct Ljubljanska Banka on July 15, 2014.
In December 1991, Croatian authorities allowed the transfer of two thirds of the foreign-currency debt of the Zagreb branch of Ljubljanska banka to a number of Croatian banks. However, more than 130,000 clients kept their savings in Ljubljanska banka.
By 1994, the Slovenian Parliament formed Nova Ljubljanska Banka with the old bank's assets but none of its debts In 1995, the Croatian bank Privredna banka Zagreb filed a lawsuit against Ljubljanska banka, after the Croatian Ministry of Finance authorized it to do so.
In 1997 the Slovenian parliament halted all lawsuits against Ljubljanska banka by foreign citizens.In 2001, the Ministry of Finance extended the lawsuit authorization to Zagrebačka banka.
After years of legal disputes, the entire case went to European Court of Human Rights.
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that Slovenia will have to find a solution for compensating deposit-holders with unpaid deposits at the defunct LB bank in Sarajevo within a year.
This ruling extends to nearly 130,000 Croatian customers are still requesting Ljubljanska Banka to pay them back 160 million Euros. The judgement will pave the way for the repayment of their savings.
According to data previously collected by the Croatian National Bank, the entire savings of Croatian clients in Ljubljanska Banka amounted to 420 million Euros, with Croatia later transferring 260 million Euros into its public debt.
