After long negotiations, J&T BANKA decided today not to raise the capital of Croatia’s Centar Banka due to the Croatian bank’s failure to fulfill the stipulated conditions. J&T Banka will therefore not be entering the local banking market for the time being. It is now looking for new ways to enter the Croatian banking market, where it plans to be a stable and long-term player.
“J&T BANKA’s plan to raise the registered capital of Centar Banka was also dependent on the fulfilment of a number of conditions set by us, and neither the current shareholders of Centar Banka nor the other institutions interested in successful future development of Centar Banka fulfilled these conditions. Our offer reflected our interest in entering and accessing the Croatian banking sector and working with a local partner with knowledge of the local environment,” said Igor Kováč, Member of the Board of Directors of J&T Banka, about the situation.
Both J&T BANKA and J&T Financial Group are strong and stable financial institutions. They had been ready to bring not only capital, but also knowledge and know-how of banking and other fields, to the Croatian market.
“We had been ready to invest 20 to 30 million euros immediately into the stabilization of Centar Banka, which would have helped not only the bank, but also to stabilize the banking sector in general. We continue to be interested in entering and being active on the Croatian market. We are ready to bring not only financial liquidity, but also a team of senior managers and all knowledge and know-how necessary to be able to become a long-term and strategic partner on the Croatian banking market,” says Monika Céreová, Vice-President of J&T financial group, in closing.