EU-based Agrobanka shareholders: Bankruptcy arguments absurd

BELGRADE The Republic of Serbia and the National Bank of Serbia "did not comply with their responsibilities of approved action plan of Agrobanka a.d." This is according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the bank's EU-based minority shareholders. EU-based Agrobanka shareholders: Bankruptcy arguments absurd The action plan which has not been performed is used by the National Bank of Serbia as the argument for taking the revocation of Agrobanka, the released further pointed out: "The Action Plan and all the activities which have been planned accordingly to it, have been prepared and signed on February 14, 2012 and confirmed with more than half of the most. Including with the biggest individual shareholder – The Republic of Serbia (20 % of shares), which should be the carrier of the most important part of activities. Now this Action Plan, which has been proposed by the majority of shareholders and has not been executed, is taken as an argument of the revocation of Agrobanka, and this takes this position to the limit of absurdity. It adds that a month after the claim for the examination of the decision for revocation of Agrobanka "that this institution received from the fifth shareholders of Agrobanka from the European Union, with which it has expropriated their property in the amount of seventy million of euros, more facts on this case have become clearer". According to this, "the most agitating in the answer of the National Bank of Serbia the reason why it took the decision on the revocation of Agrobanka": "In the answer it is claimed that the main reason was the non-performance of the Action Plan. Because we are talking about the Action Plan which has been in written approved by The National Bank of Serbia itself, the institution which has later on initiated the expropriation of Agrobanka and at the same time put in place New Agrobanka, is the situation completely absurd and is generating non-functioning of the State based on the rule of law in the Republic of Serbia". The shareholders further explain that the Action Plan had been "after the extraordinary administration in Agrobanka submitted from the largest individual shareholder (Republic of Serbia 20%) and confirmed directly by the majority of domestic and foreign investors and approved from the part of The National Bank of Serbia in the middle of February, determined a common definition to improve capital adequacy ratio of 6% by April this year and by 12% percent by September this year". These actions would result in an increase in the capital of the bank, said the shareholders, while replacing bad assets in bonds of the Republic of Serbia: "The administrative body would be replaced and an extraordinary audit of Agrobanka for the years 2010 and 2011 would be realized. This execution of the confirmed Action Plan would enable a complete restructuring of Agrobanka and its healthy performing of the business in the future". The Republic of Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia and the extraordinary management of Agrobanka are the ones who have in the whole ignored this Action Plan, said the release. It did not come to his execution only because The Republic of Serbia has not fulfilled its obligations in any point where it has committed itself to. Even more: it ignored two general meetings convened Agrobanka, and directly prevented essential decisions, added the statement. "The Action plan had for its goal the rehabilitation of Agrobanka by the end of this year, based on its own restructuring, reorganization, refinancing, reduce costs and by the change of management, by the replacement of bad assets with government bonds and at the same time by recapitalization of the Agrobanka, which would put the bank on healthy foundations, and provide its future growth. But instead of that, The Republic of Serbia, and its institutions including with The National Bank of Serbia has disabled to all other shareholders any kind of influence on the upcoming events. With it they have expressed their ignorance and the malfunction of the State based on rule of law and European business manners. It has positioned itself as a state, where all the foreign investments are in danger. By revocation of Agrobanka end expropriation of the property shares of all other shareholders, it has in the eloquent way violated all agreements on the protection of foreign investments in its territory," the EU-based shareholders said. B92

EU-based Agrobanka shareholders: Bankruptcy arguments absurd

The action plan which has not been performed is used by the National Bank of Serbia as the argument for taking the revocation of Agrobanka, the released further pointed out:

"The Action Plan and all the activities which have been planned accordingly to it, have been prepared and signed on February 14, 2012 and confirmed with more than half of the most. Including with the biggest individual shareholder – The Republic of Serbia (20 % of shares), which should be the carrier of the most important part of activities. Now this Action Plan, which has been proposed by the majority of shareholders and has not been executed, is taken as an argument of the revocation of Agrobanka, and this takes this position to the limit of absurdity.

It adds that a month after the claim for the examination of the decision for revocation of Agrobanka "that this institution received from the fifth shareholders of Agrobanka from the European Union, with which it has expropriated their property in the amount of seventy million of euros, more facts on this case have become clearer".

According to this, "the most agitating in the answer of the National Bank of Serbia the reason why it took the decision on the revocation of Agrobanka":

"In the answer it is claimed that the main reason was the non-performance of the Action Plan. Because we are talking about the Action Plan which has been in written approved by The National Bank of Serbia itself, the institution which has later on initiated the expropriation of Agrobanka and at the same time put in place New Agrobanka, is the situation completely absurd and is generating non-functioning of the State based on the rule of law in the Republic of Serbia".

The shareholders further explain that the Action Plan had been "after the extraordinary administration in Agrobanka submitted from the largest individual shareholder (Republic of Serbia 20%) and confirmed directly by the majority of domestic and foreign investors and approved from the part of The National Bank of Serbia in the middle of February, determined a common definition to improve capital adequacy ratio of 6% by April this year and by 12% percent by September this year".

These actions would result in an increase in the capital of the bank, said the shareholders, while replacing bad assets in bonds of the Republic of Serbia:

"The administrative body would be replaced and an extraordinary audit of Agrobanka for the years 2010 and 2011 would be realized. This execution of the confirmed Action Plan would enable a complete restructuring of Agrobanka and its healthy performing of the business in the future".

The Republic of Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia and the extraordinary management of Agrobanka are the ones who have in the whole ignored this Action Plan, said the release.

It did not come to his execution only because The Republic of Serbia has not fulfilled its obligations in any point where it has committed itself to. Even more: it ignored two general meetings convened Agrobanka, and directly prevented essential decisions, added the statement.

"The Action plan had for its goal the rehabilitation of Agrobanka by the end of this year, based on its own restructuring, reorganization, refinancing, reduce costs and by the change of management, by the replacement of bad assets with government bonds and at the same time by recapitalization of the Agrobanka, which would put the bank on healthy foundations, and provide its future growth. But instead of that, The Republic of Serbia, and its institutions including with The National Bank of Serbia has disabled to all other shareholders any kind of influence on the upcoming events.
With it they have expressed their ignorance and the malfunction of the State based on rule of law and European business manners. It has positioned itself as a state, where all the foreign investments are in danger. By revocation of Agrobanka end expropriation of the property shares of all other shareholders, it has in the eloquent way violated all agreements on the protection of foreign investments in its territory," the EU-based shareholders said.