Slovenia frees up to €4.7 bln for bank recapitalisation

Slovenian parliament on Friday passed a bill enabling the government to use up to 4.7 billion euros ($6.4 billion) to recapitalise the eurozone country's troubled banking system. Lawmakers passed late on Friday an amended public finances bill with the backing of 47 MPs in the 90-seat parliament. The centre-right opposition voted against. The bill provides the legal framework for a recapitalisation of banks after the results of stress tests are published on December 13. "Immediately after the results are published, we urgently need to provide possible investors a clear information about the capital needs of banks and, at the same time, about the measures taken by the government," Mateja Vranicar, state secretary at the Finance Ministry, said presenting the bill. She added "4.7 billion euros was the top amount we can invest in banks". An EU-supervised "stress test" of the country's largest banks, which are staggering under a mountain of bad loans, is expected to reveal on December 13 how much money is needed to shore them up and whether Slovenia, in recession since 2011, can fix it by itself. Under the bill, the government can use 3.5 billion euros of this year's budget and deposits in domestic banks, and can borrow an additional 1 billion euros in financial markets and re-distribute another 200 million euros to recapitalise banks. The centre-right opposition obstructed the vote, saying it allowed the government to recapitalise banks in a non-transparent way and without the parliament's supervision. The Slovenian daily Finance quoted domestic and foreign economists predicting the state will need some 4.2 billion euros to recapitalise the country's largest banks. Slovenia, once a model European Union and eurozone newcomer, has been in recession since 2011. There are worries it could become the sixth eurozone member to need a bailout.