NLB downsizing in Serbia and Slovenia

Due to a difficult situation it has found itself in, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) will have to enter the process of reorganization by the year's end, meaning that it will also have to cut the number of employees, primarily in Serbia and Slovenia, said NLB Slovenia President Janko Medja.

- NLB has been in a difficult situation for several years now, which is why we have made an ambitious reorganization plan that calls for downsizing, among other things. This will not apply to all the countries we operate in, but only Slovenia and Serbia, where NLB achieves bad business results - Medja told Tanjug news agency after a HR conference organized by Infoarena.

According to him, after a thorough analysis that was carried out in late 2013, it was clear that every fifth employee of NLB banka in Slovenia would lose their job.

When it comes to Serbia, he reminded that NLB's market share in that country was below 2 percent, adding that the business was also affected by the crisis in a bad way.

He underlined that the share of non-performing loans (NPL) granted by NLB in Serbia had been growing at an accelerated pace prior to the crisis. According to Medja, NPL's approved by the NLB group account for as much as 25 percent of all loans.

The president of NLB banka in Slovenia pointed out that the NLB group generated the largest revenue in its home country - 75 percent of all revenues. On the other hand, a total of 18 banks operate in Slovenia, which he believes is too much given the population, so he expects that sector to be consolidated soon.