However, due to the circumstances it seems highly unlikely that the company would make a serious and credible offer. Until now the only bidders interested in the purchase had been the US private equity fund Apollo and Hungarian bank OTP.

Although the two bidders for the New Credit Bank of Maribor (NKBM) had sent their binding offers in late January and are now in negotiations with the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH), this week another fund has expressed its interest in the purchase, reported Maja Derčar for Radio Slovenia. Večer newspaper writes that the company is called Global Bancorp Commodities and Investments. Not much is known about the firm yet. According to Radio Slovenia the fund had only been founded 11 months ago.

The fact that the fund lists a Alexander Vasiliev as its president, has led investment experts to suspect this might be a case of Russian capital trying to find a safe haven through international investments during the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

Al. Ma., MMC; translated by K. Z.