Open-end mutual fund RIF sold its 2.82-percent capital interest in Slovenska Sporitelna a.s. (SLSP) bank on Tuesday. Postova Banka, a.s. bank became the new holder of 179,889 SLSP shares, spokesman for J&T, administering RIF, told SITA.

The contract volume totaled SKK 305.8 million at SKK 1,700 per share, added the spokesman. Several potential buyers were interested in the SLSP shares but Postova Banka was the most serious buyer, offering the best price. In the sale of SLSP shares, RIF wanted to increase liquidity needed to payout to investors, stated Mr. Sykora.

The majority shareholder of Slovenska Sporitelna is Austrian Erste Bank, controlling 67.19 percent of shares. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) holds 19.99 percent of share capital. The Finance Ministry controls 10 percent of shares in SLSP.

Slovenska Sporitelna reported a preliminary SKK 3.5 billion net profit for 2002, up more than SKK 1.4 billion from the previous year. The bank’s balance sheet total increased 13.9 percent to SKK 247 billion. Loans to clients increased by 41.8 percent or SKK 10 billion compared with the previous year. After deduction of provisions, the volume of loans amounted to SKK 33.9 billion. Clients‘ deposits totaled SKK 174.3 billion.