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Weekly Lists
March 1, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
bne:Banker
EBRD ‘may start discussions’ over privatisation of largest Azerbaijani lender IBA later this year
Montenegro’s troubled Atlas Banka to launch public capital hike call
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) may start discussions with the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) over its privatisation later this year, the EBRD’s manager in the South Caucasus country has said.
“At this current stage we don’t discuss any privatisation plans with them [IBA] as it’s not the right time,” Ivana Fernandes Duarte told Reuters in a February 25 interview, adding: “We hope that these discussions might start later this year.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in 2015 ordered the privatisation of the gas-rich country’s biggest bank after a clean-up to get rid of distressed assets resulting from poor management.
The temporary administrator of Montenegro’s troubled Atlas Banka will launch a public call for a capital increase, allowing investors who are not existing shareholders to subscribe for new shares, the central bank said in a statement.
Atlas Banka and Invest Banka Montenegro (IBM) were put under temporary administration by the central bank as its audit showed that the capital of the two lenders did not comply with the minimum risk requirements. However, an invitation to Atlas Banka sharehold- ers to subscribe for new shares worth €22mn got no takers.
The bank is mired in scandal as Montenegro’s prosecution has ac- cused its owner Dusko Knezevic of abuse of office, while Knezevic has made a series of explosive claims against President Milo Djukanovic and other top officials.
Latvia’s decision to suspend the head of the country’s central bank Edgars Rimsevics from office because of corruption charges was overruled by the EU’s top court on February 27 for lack of evidence against the official.
The judgment is a major victory for Rimsevics and a setback for Latvia’s anti-corruption office KNAB, which charged the central bank chief with bribery in mid-2018.
Rimsevics was suspended in early 2018, causing confusion at the European Central Bank (ECB), where he is a board member because of Latvia’s membership in the Eurozone. The ECB asked the CJEU to rule on the legality of the suspension in April.
Latvia’s suspension of corruption-suspected central bank chief Rimsevics overruled by EU’s top court