STA, 19 December 2018 - The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will examine the case brought by Slovenia against Croatia over the defunct bank Ljubljanska Banka (LB), the court said on Wednesday.

In the application lodged on 15 September 2016, Slovenia argues unfairness, a lack of impartiality and discrimination by Croatian courts in proceedings brought by LB to collect debts owed by Croatian companies.

The Strasbourg court said that the ECHR Chamber, which had been allocated the case, now relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber, comprised of 17 judges.

Jurisdiction is relinquished to the Grand Chamber only exceptionally. Under Article 30 of the European Convention of Human Rights this may happen when a case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or its Protocols, or where the resolution of a question before the Chamber might have a result inconsistent with a judgement previously delivered by the Court.

A response by the Government Communication Office indicates that the Grand Chamber is to first decide on the admissibility of the inter-state case.

Slovenia's high representative for succession Ana Polak Petrič hailed the decision, but said that it did not come as a surprise and that given the weight of the arguments presented by Slovenia in the inter-state case "we believe the application needs to be examined by the Strasbourg court's Grand Chamber".

She told the STA that the decision meant that the case would be heard and that Slovenia would have an opportunity to set out its arguments, possibly even in an oral hearing.

Polak Petrič expects the procedure to take several years. "Inter-state cases take their time, considering broader aspects involved. Countries also take their time to present their arguments, and nor is the damage claim simple. It concerns 48 cases from the 1990s in which Ljubljanska Banka claimed debts in Croatian courts".

In the application, Slovenia alleges that Croatia's judicial and executive authorities have illegally prevented LB from recovering debt from Croatian companies incurred in the 1990s through their systematic and arbitrary conduct, thus violating European law originating in the European Convention of Human Rights.

On brining the case, the then Justice Minister Goran Kelmenčič explained that such conduct on the part of Croatia put Slovenia in an unfair and unenviable position, considering the country had to repay the savings deposits held by Croatian clients of the LB Zagreb branch under the 2014 ECHR judgement in the Ališić case.

On the other hand, he said that Croatia had done everything in its power over the past 25 years to prevent LB to collect debts owed by Croatian companies.

Klemenčič explained that LB was the biggest bank in the former Yugoslavia and that the Zagreb subsidiary had financed Croatian companies, enabling them to function and develop. "Loans from LB created positive effects on the Croatian economy."

Since the debtors (Croatian companies) after the break-up of Yugoslavia failed to settle their debts to LB stemming from loans and guarantees granted after 1980, LB and its Zagreb subsidiary launched enforcement proceedings before Croatian courts between 1991 and 1996.

There were more than 80 such proceedings, and they were worth millions, the minister stressed, adding that in 25 years LB had managed to enforce through Croatian courts only EUR 700,000.

Klemenčič said that the lawsuit contained proof that the "Croatian executive directly interfered with the functioning of the judiciary, prevented enforcements, while the judiciary in Croatia changed the case law and prevented LB from successfully enforcing their legitimate claims to Croatian companies".

In the wake of the 2014 ECHR judgement in the Ališić case, Slovenia examined 81 suits brought by LB in Croatia, finding that in 26 the cases the European Convention of Human Rights had been violated.

Polak Petrič said that since Slovenia lodged its application with the ECHR, the number of cases in which Slovenia detected direct violations of the Convention had increased from 26 to 48.

Court proceedings in Croatia are slowly coming to an end and every case in which the judgement becomes final is included in Slovenia's application in support of the case.

Polak Petrič said that the damages claimed by Slovenia from Croatia had increased from EUR 360m to EUR 430m.

The Slovenian government alleges multiple violations of Article 6 of the Convention with respect to the right to a fair trial, equality before the law, right to enforcement and trial within a reasonable time.

Slovenia also alleges violation of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention concerning peaceful enjoyment of possessions.

The Foreign Ministry also commented on the issue today for the STA, saying LB had only been able to secure a tiny fraction of the claims to Croatian companies.

Croatian courts on average needed more than 15 years to reach final decisions in the matter, while in some cases the procedures dragged on for more than 22 years, the ministry wrote.

Slovenia expects that following the decision on the LB savers, the ECHR will also find a just solution as regards the rights violations suffered by the bank, it added.

STA, 19 December 2018 - MPs appointed economist Boštjan Vasle central bank governor in a 51:28 vote on Wednesday. Vasle, who will be the fifth governor, will succeed Boštjan Jazbec who left Banka Slovenije for a new job in April. Vasle needed to secure at least 46 votes in a secret ballot in the 90-strong legislature.

Vasle served as the director of the government's macroeconomic think-tank IMAD for eleven years. When he laid out his bid in a public presentation in early December, he stressed his commitment to have Banka Slovenije operate as an open institution.

He has called for effective coordination of policies as economic growth is about to cool off and for the EU banking union to be completed as soon as possible.

While he emerged as the surprise frontrunner for the post after it became clear that other candidates would not get an absolute majority in parliament, the outcome of the vote had been unclear until the very end.

In the debate before the vote, Vasle appeared to have secured the votes of MPs from the Modern Centre Party (SMC), Social Democrats (SD), Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), which have a total of 30 MPs between them.

SAB deputy Maša Kociper said that he had not been the party's first pick, but once economist Igor Masten was out of the game, the party had to choose among the others, with Vasle coming out as a very good candidate.

However, Vasle was not backed by the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), the biggest coalition party, whose deputy group head Brane Golubović said he had never been their pick.

Likewise, the Left, the minority government's partner in the opposition, refused to back the candidate whom Luka Mesec, the leader of the Left, described as an advocate of neoliberal policies.

According to Mesec, Vasle sees the world "through the eyes of a capitalist and not a worker". The party also said that he had failed to distance himself from the actions of previous governors.

"Two governors of the past ten years are to blame for the banking hole and its tackling just as much as the governments," Mesec said in reference to the 2013 bank bailout.

The conservative opposition, the SDS, New Slovenia (NSi) and the National Party (SNS) had not disclosed in the debate whether they would endorse Vasle or not.

Banka Slovenije has been without a governor since April, when the former boss, Boštjan Jazbec, left for a job on the EU's Single Resolution Board. The central bank has since been led by acting governor Primož Dolenc, who failed to get appointed full-fledged governor in October.

Vasle will become the fifth central bank governor, following in the footsteps of Jazbec, Marko Kranjec, Mitja Gaspari and France Arhar.

Boštjan Vasle, a 49-year old analyst who wants a systematic, long-term approach

STA, 19 December 2018 - Economist Boštjan Vasle, 49, is coming to Banka Slovenije as the fifth governor of the country's central bank, having led the government's macroeconomic forecaster IMAD for eleven years. He is considered an independent expert and has largely kept out of the public eye.

Vasle started his career at the Finance Ministry after graduating from the Ljubljana Faculty of Economics in 1994.

He earned a master's degree in monetary policy from the Central European University in Budapest in 1997 before getting a job at the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (IMAD) as analyst in 2000.

In 2007, the Janez Janša cabinet appointed him IMAD director. He worked for IMAD until a month ago, when the Marjan Šarec government relieved him of his duties as acting director in a sign that he was a serious candidate for governor.

During his 18-year stint at IMAD, he briefly worked in 2006 for the Government Office for Development, which brought together several up-and-coming economists.

As IMAD director, Vasle has been involved in several key economic challenges, such as a programme to reduce inflation, Slovenia's eurozone integration and a programme of structural measures to address the recent economic crisis.

He has worked with all major decision-makers in Slovenia and with international institutions, such as the IMF, EU and European Central Bank. He is also a member of several expert boards in Slovenia and abroad.

The new governor is known for his systemic approach and communication with the public, which he also highlighted as a priority in running the central bank.

"Banka Slovenije must build its positions on expertise and present them publicly, not just within the eurozone, but also to the broader public, experts, politicians and the general public," he said when he presented his bid at Presidential Palace in early December.

He believes that as the supervisor of the banking sector, Banka Slovenije should not only monitor banks' operations but also work closely with other stakeholders in the sector.

Vasle also called for completing the EU's banking union and for the eurozone to reflect thoroughly on how to phase out unconventional monetary measures which had been needed to address the negative consequences of the recent crisis.

In his spare time, Vasle is an enthusiastic runner. "Running has been my most important sport over the past 30 years," he told a men's magazine a while ago.

He is trying to use some of his running experience at work. "If we treated economic problems as long-term challenges, our macroeconomic picture would definitely be better," he said at the time.

Vasle will replace Governor Boštjan Jazbec, who left for a high-profile job in the EU at the end of April, taking over from Vice Governor Primož Dolenc, who has led the central bank as acting governor in the meantime.

STA, 19 December 2018 - Presenting Banka Slovenije's latest Macroeconomic Projections and Financial Stability Review publications, acting governor Primož Dolenc said on Wednesday that Slovenia's financial system was healthy. "Banks' profitability is currently very favourable, but some income risk exists in the mid-term," he told the press.

Dolenc, who called on banks to seek new sources of net interest and non-interest income, said the risk is compounded by a substantial share of the banks' profitability remaining the result of the easing of impairments and provisions.

Tomaž Košak of the central bank's financial stability and macro-prudential department illustrated that the banks generated EUR 422m in pre-tax net profit in the first nine months amid 3.6% year-on-year growth in net interest income. The easing of impairments and provisions contributed EUR 41m.

"Were the banks to form provisions at the level of the long-term average today and the provisions accounted for 23% of gross income, the profit would be halved to EUR 180m and return on capital would fall from 12% to 5%," he said.

Concerns about an overheating housing market

While general risks to the financial system have remaining similar to those in the middle of this year, they have increased somewhat on the housing market.

"We estimate that the prices on this market are growing today because supply is failing to keep up with demand, meaning it is not consequence of excessive bank lending," Dolenc said, while asserting the current developments were not a danger to the banking system, which was well capitalised and resistant to potential shocks.

Košak highlighted strong growth in real estate prices in the last two years in particular in Ljubljana, Koper and certain tourist centres. Housing prices went up by 10% last year and by 13.4% in the first half of this year, which is the biggest increase in the eurozone.

"We are currently not talking about overheating, but any further price increases will start leading to the market overheating," he said.

The growth of housing loans to households was moderate and stable this year and lending standards are relatively high.

This was the case with consumer loans though, which is why the central bank recommended in November that retail banks impose stricter conditions.

Meanwhile, the quality of banks' portfolios has also improved, with exposure to non-performing loans falling to 4.5% by September.

"Some banks are still dealing with exposure dating back to the crisis, which is why we stress the need for them to make use of the favourable business conditions to restructure their portfolios," Košak said.