December 7 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's central bank said on Friday it placed Atlas Banka [MNG:ATBA] and Invest Banka [MNG:IBMN] under temporary administration due to the poor financial condition of the two lenders.
The decision was made after audit results showed that the capital of the two lenders does not comply with the minimum risk requirements, the central bank said in a statement.
"Today, the central bank introduced temporary administration at two smaller banks with a market share of just over 6% due to worsening of their business parameters and deterioration of their financial condition," central bank governor Radoje Zugic said in a video file posted on the website of public boradcaster RTCG.
The prospects for the recovery of the two banks are realistic, Zugic noted.
"My message to the general public, and especially to the depositors of the two banks, is that all their guaranteed deposits are fully protected and that this measure of the central bank will not aggravate the financial health of the banking system, but will further strengthen it," he added.
In October, Atlas Banka said it completed a 1.369 million euro ($1.56 million) capital hike as part of its debt restructuring strategy. After the completion of the incrase, the total capital of the bank amounts to 32.028 million euro, the total number of shares is 64,056, Atlas Banka said. The loan portfolio of the bank amounted to 146.1 million euro, whereas its deposit portfolio totalled 218.4 million euro at the end of September, according to central bank data.
Invest Banka had a loan portfolio of 29.4 million euro and deposits of 37.9 million euro at the end of September. The capital of the bank amounted to 5.6 million euro.
($ = 0.879291 euro)