The Single Resolution Board, in cooperation with the Croatian National Bank (CNB) as the national resolution authority, adopted today the decision initiating the resolution proceedings of Sberbank d.d. Zagreb (Press Release SRB).

The European Commission has also endorsed the resolution decision that will be implemented by the CNB.

It has been decided that the resolution is to be carried out by sale; Hrvatska poštanska banka d.d. becomes the new owner of Sberbank d.d. Under the instruction of the Single Resolution Board, the CNB transfers 615,623 shares representing 100% of the share capital of Sberbank d.d. to Hrvatska poštanska banka d.d.

This means, among other things, that from Wednesday Sberbank d.d. is going to be a fully liquid credit institution capable of fulfilling all of its obligations. All deposits of citizens and companies, irrespective of their amount, are absolutely safe and will be available after the expiry of the moratorium.

Hrvatska poštanska banka, accounting for 5.56% of the assets of the banking system, is the sixth largest bank in the country and is in the majority ownership of the Republic of Croatia.

The two-day moratorium ends today at 23:59:59 and the bank’s regular operations will resume from 2 March 2022. This means that the limit of the available daily amount of HRK 7,280 will be lifted after the expiry of the moratorium and that any payments suspended during the moratorium will be enabled with no limits.

Until the appointment of the new Management Board of Sberbank d.d., which will be nominated by the new owner, the coordination of the Bank’s operations will be assumed by the Resolution Management Board consisting of Paško Rakić, President of the Management Board, Boris Bekavac, Member of the Management Board and Ivan Knežević, Assistant to the Resolution Management Board.

The decision on the resolution of Sberbank d.d. by sale has been adopted in order to ensure financial stability in the Republic of Croatia, avoid economic disruptions and protect the public interest and the clients of this bank.

Following the Russian invasion on Ukraine, the European Union and the United States of America adopted a sanctions package that has also had a quick and significant effect on the operations of Sberbank d.d. Due to a rapid liquidity deterioration, the European Central Bank (ECB), which directly supervises this bank, announced on 28 February, that Sberbank d.d. is failing or likely to fail.

In accordance with its mandate, the ECB notified the Single Resolution Board (SRB), the central resolution authority within the Banking Union, of this assessment. The SRB determined that the bank was failing or likely to fail and adopted the decision on a moratorium on the operations of Sberbank d.d., based on which the CNB also adopted its Decision. The moratorium began on Monday, 28 February at 00:00:01, and it ends on Tuesday, 1 March at 23:59:59.