Notification-NLB-20140912-Failure-to-disclose _Page_1

NLB, Slovenia's largest bank, continues with its irresponsible and deceitful attitudes towards investors, while the national banking regulator (Bank of Slovenia) refuses to recognize the serious problem and its potential disastrous consequences; this compelled the PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD) to report the latest malpractices to the international financial institutions that unwittingly assist NLB with its new issuances to trusting investors.

On 15 November 2013, NLB officially reported that on 30 September 2013 its equity met all the capital requirements, yet on 18 December 2013, its investors were expropriated, with the national regulator Bank of Slovenia declaring that on 30 September 2013 NLB's equity was in fact negative. Thus, Bank of Slovenia found that NLB's Management Board overstated the equity by more than one billion € (+835 as opposed to –318 million €), but despite this it decided not to pursue any action whatsoever against any member of NLB's Management Board, who to this day all remain on this board, receiving the same salaries as before this discovery. Furthermore, Bank of Slovenia also did not recognize any need for compensation, or any other form of protection, of the expropriated investors, although it is more than obvious that they had been misinformed and deceived by NLB's official financial statements.

With regret and indignation, VZMD observes that NLB still continues with its deceitful practices towards investors, while Bank of Slovenia still keeps refusing to sanction these practices in any way, and even to recognize any wrongdoing. Namely, on 1 July 2014, NLB has again blatantly deceived its investors, issuing 300 million € of new bonds (XS1081728195) listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange based on the prospectus (also dated 1 July 2014) in which NLB's Management Board stated that there were three ongoing legal proceedings contesting the registration of the 18 December 2013 expropriation act, yet stressed that »As at the date of this Prospectus, it is not possible to predict the outcome of these (or any other) proceedings«.

NLB's Management Board has stated this untruth 27 days after the most important of the mentioned three proceedings had been decided, with the decision at that date already being final, uncontestable and legally binding. Namely, on 4 June 2014 the Higher Court of Ljubljana, by decision IV Cpg 474/2014, reversed the Registration Act Srg 2013/53822, by which on 18 December 2013, the recapitalization and auxiliary measures thereof were recorded in the Court Register of the District Court in Ljubljana. Official documentation of the District Court in Ljubljana (at disposal at the VZMD headquarters) reveals that on 27 June 2014, this decision was served to the members of NLB's Management Board, NLB's legal representatives, and the authorized officials of the Bank of Slovenia.

This indisputably ascertains that on 1 July 2014, the date of the issuance and of the prospectus, the court decision IV Cpg 474/2014 and its legal consequences had been known to the abovementioned persons for at least six days, yet they were not disclosed in the prospectus; on the contrary, it was stated explicitly that »at the date of this Prospectus, it is not possible to predict the outcome of these proceedings«. This misinformation certainly played a substantial role in convincing the investors (both Slovenian and foreign nationals) into subscribing as much as 300 million € of the offered bonds.

As Bank of Slovenia is acquainted with all the above-mentioned acts of NLB's irresponsibility and deceit, yet refuses to act or even recognize these acts as problematic, VZMD is compelled in its endeavor of protecting the small investors to report these malpractices to the international financial institutions that unwittingly assist NLB with its new bond issuances. The Letter informing these institutions about the failure by NLB to disclose an essential material fact in the latest bond issuance is available here: www.vzmd.si/images/Notification-NLB-20140912-Failure-to-disclose%20.pdf

In the first unofficial response, one of these institutions assured VZMD that to date, NLB has not informed them about the legally binding reversal of the 18 December 2013 registration act, and that this institution finds this highly troubling, as their mutual agreements with NLB certainly made it binding for NLB to notify them of all such events before the date of the issuance, yet they even failed to do so subsequently.


Other Related International Activities:

 

NEW YORK – VZMD President invited to be a guest-speaker at the Annual Conference of the International Financial Litigation Network (IFLN) yesterday – shortly after a successful business delegation in Iran, he also participated in a discussion in the world's financial centre with some distinguished international lawyers and representatives from key law offices regarding the scandalous expropriation of the owners of shares and bonds at Slovenian banks - an alarming case indicating problems in the (New York, May 2013)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION – a reminder to the EU Commission President J.M. Barroso about the unequal treatment of Slovenia, and about the endangered financial, economic and social stability accompanying scandalous expropriation of share and bond owners at Slovenian Banks – a letter of the Civil Society Initiative and NKBM Section at VZMD to the EU Commission President is soon to be presented in the European Parliament as well (Brussels, March 2013)

        

EXPROPRIATION – VZMD has filed three more lawsuits, this time against the banks, because the entry of subordinated bonds and shares termination in the register has been established as null – further use of all legal remedies to protect the expropriated owners, the signatories to the VZMD Agreement, and granting authority to the law office (Ljubljana, February 2013)

Slovenian Constitutional Court acknowledges the legal interest of 293 initiators united by VZMD who demanded a constitutional review of the Banking Act (Ljubljana, January 2013)

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT acknowledged the legal interest of 290 initiators, united by VZMD who demanded constitutional review of the Banking Act; the Court has given priority to the two VZMD initiatives but suspension of the Act was rejected, due to misleading statements by the Government and the Bank of Slovenia - shares and subordinated bonds of 100.000 owners had been erased in the three biggest Slovenian banks! (Ljubljana, December 2013)

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO REPORT about the week of the MOSCOW-VIENNA-CAPETOWN conferences involving the following: active participation of the international business-investment VZMD programmes, signing a memorandum with the Russian Federation of Investors, and protection of rights of the Slovene and European shareholders at the Viennese conference »The Financial Repression of Savers and Investors« (Moscow, Vienna, Cape Town, October 2013)

 

NKBM = BANKIA – mass protests take place in front of The Central Bank of Spain (CBS) because of national fraud against 350,000 shareholders who are represented by the law firm that is attending, along with VZMD (Pan−Slovenian Shareholders’ Association), the international initiative at CBS. (Madrid, September 2013)

WORLD BANK – President of VZMD and EuroFinUse Board Member speaker of the first panel at the international conference about audit reform and the importance of audit committees (Bucharest, June 2013)

 

VIDEO REPORT – exclusively from the European Parliament: the EuroFinUse international conference and the Election Assembly, the announcement of the new President and Board of directors of this influential European association, into which a representative of Slovenia is also re-elected (Brussels, March 2013)

BRUSSELS – Slovenia with VZMD once more elected to the top of the European Federation of Financial Services Users – intensive international activities today continue with a conference in the European Parliament (Brussels, March 2013)

TOKYO – conclusion of the visit of Slovene economic and political delegation with Slovenian-Japanese Business & Investment Forum and the reception at Japanese investors’ association – the active role of VZMD with its international investors’ programs investo.si and investo.international(Tokyo, March 2013)

INDIA – visit of Slovenian government and business delegation – on the basis of Memorandum between ICPE and VZMD international investors' programs investo.si and investo.international also present (New Delhi, February 2013)

Memorandum of cooperation signed between the International Center for Promotion of Enterprises (ICPE) and VZMD, with additional expansion of activities within the framework of international investment programs investo.si and investo.international (Ljubljana, January, 2013)

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO REPORT of “International Conference on Benefits and Challenges of Public Private Partnerships for improving Energy Efficiency” – key statements of prominent participants (Ljubljana, October, 2012)

 

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO REPORT from EuropeanIssuers International Conference on »The future of European Equity Markets« at the Milan Stock Exchange – programs investo.si in investo.international also at the upcoming International Investors´ Conference in Wiesbaden (Milano, November 2012)

VIDEO REPORT - International Conference at the Brussels Stock Exchange Stimulated Investors' Representatives and Institutions to Participate at the Investors' Week 2012 in September in Slovenia(Brussels, March 2012)

 


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