Dollar Drops Under 6 Kuna
The Croatian National Bank published its currency exchange rates to be used from tomorrow, Thursday 08 March. The Euro dropped below Kn 7.5 to Kn 7.425562, and the median US Dollar rate is set at Kn 5.974865. This puts the Dollar under 6 Kn for the first time since 20 February. Kuna has gone up to the Euro by 0.06%, and gained 0.72% to the dollar. The British Pound went 0.64% down, to Kn 8.285608, and the Swiss Frank lost 0.53% dropping to Kn 6.367314 per 1 Frank.
07.03.2018 Read More
Agrokor Pushes Retirement Funds Profits Down
Total value of Croatian mandatory retirement funds grew by Kn 7,.7 billion in 2017, to the all-time high of Kn 91.7 billion. This makes up for 26% of the Croatian GDP, ranking Croatia first among transition countries and somewhere in the middle of the list of developed countries. […]
06.02.2018 Read More
Bank Profits Down by Half, Half the Banks Show a Loss
Central Bank data show that, in the first nine months of 2017, Croatian banks managed to achieve a total pre-tax profit of Kn 2,63 billion. This is 47% down from Kn 4.96 billion in the same period of 2016. Biggest factor in this decline were risks related to Agrokor and its companies, which caused the banks to increase reservations. […]
01.12.2017 Read More
New 5 billion Euro Bond by the End of the Week
Ministry of finance delegation leaves Zagreb this week for a road show through European financial capitals to promote a new issue of Eurobonds to refinance debts of the Croatian road sector. The delegation will visit London, Frankfurt, Milano, Amsterdam and Munich, to see if the sector’s EUR five billion debt can be solved without selling or concessioning the highways, basically by refinancing the amounts due “soon”.
Minister of Finance Marić stated in October in Washington that most of the budget obligations were covered in the first half of the year, freeing the space needed to focus on roads and highways where expectations are substantial.
Banking analysts noted that the issue could be a 12 to 15-year bond, and that the advisors for the issue were already selected. Meetings with investors are reportedly scheduled for Monday to Wednesday this week. Same banking circles report rumours that the bond could be out as early as the end of this week, with interest set between 2.89% to 3.3%. This will not change the public debt per se, where the road sector holds almost 13.5% or EUR 5.2 billion, but it should improve term structure and lower the interest.
RBA said that the state also plans to issue another Kuna-denominated bond in the local market. This is because some Kn 4 billion bonds issued in 2010 mature by the end of November, so the new money would be used to refinance the old debt. Again, this will have no influence on total debt but the low interest and high fiscal indicators environment seems favorable for a new issue.
13.11.2017 Read More
Sberbank Wants an Injunction on Roll-ups
Sberbank announced on Thursday that it has asked the Commercial Court in Zagreb to forbid the Government Administrator of Agrokor, Mr Ramljak, to arrange new financing contract on roll-up basis. The bank announced on 07 June that it had submitted a request for injunction to the court, because this model would allow new creditors “super-seniority” for their claims dated before 10 April this year.
The bank believes “this model is not supported by the Croatian legislation and is contrary to Lex Agrokor, and its implementation would lead to disposal of Agrokor property in a manner detrimental to other creditors and participants, including the Republic of Croatia.”
Sberbank added that it wishes, “in spite of current challenging circumstances, to ensure that the special administration in Agrokor is conducted in full accordance with the law and to the maximum benefit of all parties involved.”
08.06.2017 Read More
Croatia Takes Over Cardif
Croatia’s largest insurance company, Croatia Osiguranje, announced last week that they have acquired 100% of Cardif Insurance Croatia from BNP Paribas Cardif. The contract, signed this week, will become valid after Croatia’s Financial Services Supervision Agency approves it.
BNP Paribas Cardif has been present on Croatian market since 2007. At the end of April this year, it held 0.10% of the overall Croatian insurance market, with gross premium of 3.2 million Kuna, al of it pertaining to non-life insurance segment.
Croatia Osiguranje saw the end of April with gross premium of 1.03 billion Kuna, and 30.9% of the overall market.
26.05.2017 Read More
Cimos Debt To RiBa Resolved
Minister of State Property, Goran Marić, and CEO of the Slovenian company for bank claims management, Imre Balogh, signed an agreement on sale of claims against Cimos. The agreement regulates the Cimos old debt towards Riječka Bank, which was now taken over by the Croatian Agency for Deposit Insurance and Bank Rehabilitation (DAB), for which Slovenia will pay EUR 7 million.
The Slovenian Cimos was recently sold to an Italian investment fund, Palladio Finanziaria, for a symbolic amount of EUR 110,000 but with strings attached, including payment of Cimos debt exceeding EUR 110 million and fresh capital for the troubled company. […]
24.05.2017 Read More
ZaBa Sells Bad Debts
Zagrebačka Banka has sold a total of 3.34 billion Kuna of claims towards businesses and private citizens to APS Delta s.r.o, owned by Czech APS Holding. The holding has entered Croatian market in February this year, by buying a portfolio of over 100 million € of bad debts from Croatian Postal Bank. They have opened an office in Zagreb, employing around 40 people.
24.05.2017 Read More
Foreign Funds Worried About Agrokor Situation
Fidelity International and Axa Investment Managers are worried they might lose their money after the collapse of Agrokor, warned Bloomberg on Wednesday. The value of Agrokor’s loans, € 520 million, has now been reduced to 4 cents per €. Because of this, Axa IM has formed a group with American hedge funds, Knighthead Capital Management and T. Rowe Price Group, which have acquired discounted bonds in the last three months and are working with PJT Partners in the hopes that they would recoup at least some of their money. At the same time, Invesco and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, facing the same predicament, have turned to Moelis to help them in negotiations with Agrokor.
10.05.2017 Read More
RBA Report
The latest Raiffeisen analysis of the macroeconomic situation in Croatia estimates that the probability of new elections has been reduced. However, the RBA report warns, political uncertainty continues, primarily due to the fact that the PM may encounter numerous problems trying to put together a majority needed for the appontiment of new ministers. Since polls indicate that no single party would get such a majority, even with new elections, the prognosis is not particularly good, especially regarding the mid- and long-term effects of the current crisis, expected to slow down the implementation of reforms. However, RBA analysts believe that, in the short term, the crisis will not have particularly devastating effects on the economy.
10.05.2017 Read More