Pre-qualification tender published for Privredna Banka - Bids for recapitalization, merger or stake acquisition to be accepted by December 27th

The Serbian Finance Ministry and the Deposit Insurance Agency today extended an invitation to submit an expression of interest for the recapitalization, merger or the acquisition of shares in Privredna Banka Beograd.

All interested investors can submit their expressions of interest until December 27th. Interest can be expressed either individually or by a consortium leader offering to cover minimum 51 percent of the proposed transaction.

The state of Serbia holds a 64.8-percent stake in Privredna Banka Beograd. A tendering process to select a privatization advisor for that bank is currently underway.

Privredna Banka has been reporting losses over the last three years. In 2011, this bank made a RSD 793 million loss, causing the state to recapitalize the bank with RSD 2 billion.

The total assets of Privredna Banka at the end of September 2012 amounted to EUR 254.93 million, whereas its capital stood at EUR 29 million.

The bank has 36 offices in Serbia 57,354 clients, 87.5% of whom are citizens.