At a Glance
Tradition - Milestones
Nova Ljubljanska banka, d. d., Ljubljana, was founded on 27 July 1994 on the basis of the Amendments to the Constitutional Act Implementing the Basic Constitutional Charter on the Independence and Sovereignty of the Republic of Slovenia. Upon its establishment, the Bank took over part of assets and operations (in the scope as defined in Article 22 b of the aforementioned Constitutional Act) of Ljubljanska banka, d. d., Ljubljana, whose roots reach back to the 19th century, more precisely the year 1889 when Mestna hranilnica ljubljanska was founded.
Historical Highlights from 1889 to 2009
1889
The roots of Nova ljubljanska banka - Mestna hranilnica ljubljanska
The first Slovenian City Savings Banks are established in Maribor (1862), Celje (1865) and in 1889 Mestna hranilnica ljubljanska (MHL) in Ljubljana.
1955
Komunalna banka Ljubljana
Komunalna banka Ljubljana was founded on the basis of the new Law on Banks.
1965
Kreditna banka in hranilnica Ljubljana
By 1965, Komunalna banka Ljubljana had acquired several municipal banks, among them also Mestna hranilnica ljubljanska. In 1965, the bank secured a license to operate as a commercial bank, and was renamed to "Kreditna banka in hranilnica Ljubljana".
1967
Start of international operations
In 1967, the bank was licensed for international banking operations. In 1968, the first international representative office was opened in Munich. In the same year, the bank established correspondent banking relationships with 30 foreign banks.
1970
A new name, and corporate image - Ljubljanska banka
In 1970, Kreditna banka in hranilnica Ljubljana assumed a new name - Ljubljanska banka Ljubljana and ranked in the 181st place in "The London Banker Top 300 Commercial Banks Ranking".
1978
Ljubljanska banka Group
Ljubljanska banka Group was formed in 1978. It consisted of Ljubljanska banka - Associated Bank, Ljubljana, 22 basic banks including former branches, and two previously independent banks - Kreditna banka Maribor and Kreditna banka Koper.
1990
Ljubljanska banka System
All banks within the Ljubljanska banka system become joint stock companies. The system comprises: Parent Bank - Ljubljanska banka, d. d., Ljubljana (formerly Ljubljanska banka - Associated Bank, Ljubljana), five Subsidiaries and fourteen Member Banks (formerly basic banks).
1991
Merger of LB Gospodarska banka with Ljubljanska banka d. d.
LB Gospodarska banka merged with the parent bank Ljubljanska banka d. d. in 1991. In this way Ljubljanska banka d. d. acquired a large retail network in the country, and became a universal bank.
1992
Gradual dissociation of Ljubljanska banka System
Ljubljanska banka System continued the dissociation process initiated by the banking reform legislation in 1990. In 1992, the member banks started to operate independently while certain business and ownership relationships between them and Ljubljanska banka d. d. were still maintained.
1993
Ljubljanska banka d. d. begins the process of rehabilitation initiated by the Government of The Republic of Slovenia and The Bank of Slovenia (Central Bank).
1994
Nova Ljubljanska banka, d. d., Ljubljana, is founded.
Nova Ljubljanska banka d. d. was established by legislative Act of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia on 27 July 1994. Nova Ljubljanska banka d. d. assumed the majority of the assets, liabilities and operations of Ljubljanska banka, d. d., Ljubljana, except certain liabilities and guarantees of Ljubljanska banka d. d. that were incurred during the existence of the former Yugoslavia.
NLB takes over part of assets and operations of Ljubljanska banka, d. d., Ljubljana in the scope as defined in Article 22 b of the Amendments to the Constitutional Act Implementing the Basic Constitutional Charter on the Independence and Sovereignty of the Republic of Slovenia.
1995
Acquisition of E-banka Maribor
With the acquisition of a small commercial bank, E-Banka Maribor, the Bank establishes its Maribor branch.
In September 1995, Nova Ljubljanska banka d. d. opened LB Consulting s. r. o. in Prague. The new subsidiary offers financial and commercial consulting, trading, factoring and forfeiting services.
1996
Acquisition of LB-Posavska banka Krsko
In April, the bank acquires LB-Posavska banka, d. d., Krsko, and converts it to a branch.
1997
The official ending of rehabilitation of NLB d. d. takes place on 16 July 1997.
Standard & Poor's, FITCH IBCA, Moody's, Thomson Financial BankWatch and Capital Intelligence have each assigned to NLB Investment Grade Ratings that are among the highest ratings assigned to banks in Central and Eastern Europe.
The bank introduced its renewed corporate visual identity.
1998
In June 1998, NLB held its first Annual General Meeting since the successful conclusion of its rehabilitation.
NLB declares and pays a dividend to its shareholders.
NLB rating rates for the period 1998 and 1999 are among highest in Central and Eastern Europe. NLB acquires direct majority stake in Banka Velenje (59.88 % and indirect majority stake in Pomurska banka (50.05 %).
1999
Strategic partnership with Banka Celje and Dolenjska banka
The Bank signs strategic partnership and business co-operation agreements with Banka Celje and Dolenjska banka. In November 1999, Central European, the magazine of Euromoney Institutional Investor focused on Central Europe, nominates NLB a Slovenian Bank of the Decade.
2000
The international rating agencies Moody's and Capital Intelligence upgrade NLB's long-term foreign currency ratings, while Standard & Poor's and Thomson Financial BankWatch affirm their latest ratings of NLB.
NLB opens new banking units in Bled, Idrija and in Ljubljana as well as a representative office in Skopje, Macedonia.
Together with Slovenia's largest insurance company, NLB establishes a new pension insurance company, Skupna pokojninska druzba, d. d., Ljubljana. NLB acquires a significant capital shareholding in Tutunska banka, a. d., Skopje. With a capital investment of one of NLB's subsidiary banks, Commercebank, d. d., Sarajevo, joins the NLB Group.
2001
The international rating agency Fitch IBCA upgrades NLB's long-term foreign currency rating from BBB+ to A-.
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia as the main shareholder of the Bank enacts the program of NLB's privatization on May 31, 2001.
1 October 2001: Banka Velenje, d. d., Velenje, Pomurska banka , d. d., Murska Sobota and Dolenjska banka, d. d., Novo mesto, were acquired by NLB, further increasing market share and extending coverage of NLB's national network.
In October 2001, NLB obtains the international ISO 9001/TickIT certificate.
NLB receives Euromoney Annual Award for Excellence for the fifth consecutive year. The Financial Times magazine The Banker, selects NLB as Bank of the Years 2000 & 2001 for Slovenia.
2002
KBC with 34 percent and EBRD with 5 percent of NLB, new organization structure In September 2002 the first phase of privatisation successfully concluded with a 34 percent stake of the state being purchased by the Belgian banking and insurance group KBC and 5 percent by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The privatization process has brought considerable change within the organisation with a change in the Management Board and the Supervisory Board that is now reflecting the new ownership structure. This has brought further improvement in corporate governance and provided a sound base for future growth.
On the business front NLB maintained its position as the leading bank in Slovenia, despite increased competition especially from foreign banks present in the local market.
At present 95 percent of the total assets of the NLB Group is represented by banks. Significant groundwork was completed in the preparation for development of new fields complementing traditional banking activities. In particular bankassurance and asset management, are areas that NLB will enter into while other strategic activities, that are yielding dividends include leasing, factoring and forfaiting.
Operationally NLB continued its business rationalisation and technology development through the IT based project. A number of new operations were ported onto the new IT platform during the year and a new delivery channel mobile phone banking was introduced.
With the intention of achieving greater quality of NLB operations, a new organisation structure was implemented at the beginning of 2003. Its primary advantage is combining business into five centres regarding customer segments. These centres are: Treasury, Investment Banking, Asset Management and Group Investments Value Centre, Retail, SME and E-Banking Value Centre, Corporate Banking Value Centre, International Banking, Information Technology and Operations (Value Centre) and Governance Centre.
2003
In 2003 the rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's upgraded NLB's international credit rating. Moody's upgraded NLB's rating to A2 from Baa2 while the financial strength rating (FSR) was upgraded from C- to C. This represents a significant three-notch upgrade and firmly places NLB amongst the strongest group of credit rated banks. Standard & Poor's upgraded NLB's rating to BBB from BBB -. Agencies Fitch and Capital Intelligence confirmed the credit rating A -.
NLB Bank a universal bank with a leading position in the Slovene banking sector. It expanded its range of services on the Slovene market in 2003 with creation of a life assurance company NLB Vita, a joint venture with KBC. This venture has enabled NLB Group develop new business areas in addition to traditional banking services. The success of this venture can be measured in terms of the 4% market share already achieved in the relevant life assurance market in the first six months of operations.
The Group expanded its geographic presence with the acquisition of subsidiary Banks Montenegrobanka in Serbia & Montenegro, Prva Produzetnička Banka subsequently renamed LHB Banka Beograd, while West East Bank in Bulgaria joined NLB Group as a associate Bank. Other newly established companies including LB InterFinanz Beograd, LB Leasing Serbia, and CBS Invest Bosnia are targeted at increasing forfeiting, leasing and real estate management activities.
2004
An important change in NLB Management Board has taken place at the beginning of 2004 with the long standing president and CEO Marko Voljc taking up a position in KBC. NLB Bank's new president and CEO Marjan Kramar was appointed for a five-year mandate and took up his position on the February 1, 2004. Marjan Kramar has a long track record in management of financial institutions
and is highly respected in financial circles.
In the beginning of 2004 NLB Bank has begun to offer asset management services through NLB Skladi, a 100 % NLB Bank owned subsidiary.
2005
NLB bought Euromarket banka in Montenegro in April 2005. In July 2005, Continental banka Novi Sad from Serbia joined NLB Group. Razvojna banka Banja Luka joined the NLB Group in September 2005. Tuzlanska banka in Bosnia and Herzegovina became a NLB Group member in September 2005. NLB and Tutunska banka founded a pension company in Macedonia, Nov penziski fond Skopje. Two new leasing companies have been founded: NLB Leasing Podgorica and Optima Leasing Zagreb. The company NLB Factor Bratislava started operating in the beginning of the year. Prvi faktor Belgrade has been operating since March 2005.
New members of the Supervisory Board of NLB have been appointed at the General Meeting of Shareholders held on 29 June 2005.
2006
Increasing the share in Slovenian subsidiary banks and adopting a decision on starting the process merging them with the NLB. Merger in Montenegro (Euromarket banka and NLB Montenegrobanka), the Republic of Srpska (Razvojna banka Jugoistočne Evrope and LHB Banka) and the BiH Federation (CBS Bank and NLB Tuzlanska banka). Acquisition of a 97.01 % stake in NLB West East Bank Sofia. Increasing the stake of the NLB Group in NLB LHB Banka Belgrade, NLB Razvojna banka and NLB Tutunska banka. Establishment of three new companies: Prvi Faktor Sarajevo, NLB Real Estate Belgrade, Prvi faktor Skopje. Increasing the capital of companies: Nov penziski fond Skopje, NLB Vita Ljubljana, Skupna pokojninska družba Ljubljana, NLB Leasing Murska Sobota, NLB Leasing Ljubljana, NLB Leasing Koper, NLB Leasing Beograd, Prvi faktor Beograd. Winding up of the company LB Maksima.
The Banker nominated the NLB as Bank of the Year in Slovenia in 2006. Further, the Banker nominated the NLB Tutunska banka Bank of the Year in Macedonia in 2006, while the Finance Central Europe magazine nominated it the best bank according to the criteria of gross profit for 2006. Global Finance nominated the NLB The Best domestic Bank Award in 2006 and The Best Bank of CE Europe in 2006 Euromoney nominated the NLB Best Bank in Slovenia 2006.
In May 2006, the KBC informed the Supervisory Board of the NLB that it intends to transform its investment in the Bank from a strategic to a portfolio investment.
An improved rating assigned to the NLB Group by Capital Intelligence from A- to A. In April 2006 the NLB signed, together with a group of with 35 foreign banks, the largest syndicated loan for any Slovenian bank and one of the largest for any financial institution in Central and Eastern European markets.
2007
Successful adoption of the Euro in Slovenia. Raise a syndicated loan of 850 million EUR, which was the largest international loan ever given to a Slovenian bank, and the largest ever approved for a financial institution in the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Entry and capital investment in Kosovo with the purchase of Kasabank and Kosovo bank, BRK, and the start of its merger with Kasabank. Appointed three new members of NLB Management Board. Increase of capital share in LHB Internationale Handelsbank. NLB successfully increased capital in the amount of 100 million EUR. Greater capital share in NLB Tutunska Banka by increasing capitalization. Fitch Ratings confirms the A- credit rating for the NLB Group. Moody's Investors Service upgrades the credit rating of the NLB Group from A2 to Aa3. Raising a second syndicated loan in 2007 in the amount of 750 million EUR despite the crisis in international financial markets.
2008
Merger of the Kosovo banks NLB Kasabank and NLB BRK and the start of business operations by the newly created bank, NLB Prishtina. Entry into the SEPA credit payment system and its launch on January 28, 2008. "Lead Manager" in issuing 11-year Republic of Slovenia bonds totaling 1 billion EUR. The rating agency Capital Intelligence upgraded the credit rating of the NLB Group from A to A+. The Slovenian banks (NLB Banka Domzale, NLB Banka Zasavje and NLB Koroska Banka) became part of NLB by merger. NLB increased its capital by 300 million EUR. Merger by acquisition of NLB Leasing Ljubljana with NLB Leasing Velenje and NLB Leasing Murska Sobota. Drasko Veselinovic was appointed new president of the NLB Management Board. Merger of Serbian banks NLB LHB Banka Beograd and NLB Continental Banka and the start of business operations by the newly created bank, NLB Banka, Belgrade.
2009
Implementation of the national SEPA credit payment system at NLB. David Benedek was appointed a new member of the NLB Management Board. Drasko Veselinovic resigned as President of the NLB Management Board. Acquisition of syndicated loan by NLB in the amount of 405 million EUR. Successful first sale of NLB bonds guaranteed by the Republic of Slovenia in the amount of 1.5 billion EUR. Bozo Jasovic was appointed new president of the NLB Management Board. Issuing of NLB25 bond. The Moody's international rating agency changed NLB Grouo's credit rating. Early termination by mutual agreement of the term of office of three NLB Management Board members (Alojz Jamnik, Matej Narat, and Miran Vicic) and appointment of Robert Kleindienst and Marko Jazbec as new NLB Management Board members. The President of the NLB Supervisory Board, Stanislava Zadravec Caprirolo, resigned, and the previous member, Marko Simoneti, was elected new President of the NLB Supervisory Board. NLB played a major role in issuing new Republic of Slovenia government bonds. NLB Skladi received the 2009 Slovenia Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Penetration Leadership.
2010
NLB played a major role in the issue of new Republic of Slovenia government bonds.LHB Finance was merged with NLB.NLB successfully raised a new long-term loan without a government guarantee of or other collateral in the amount of EUR 440 million.The public sale of subordinated NLB26 bonds was completed, with the proceeds in the amount of EUR 61.4 million going to increase the Banks capital.A hybrid instrument with a total issue amount of EUR 100 million was listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.NLB Real Estate was merged with NLB Srbija.The Bank was downgraded from A1 to A3 by the international rating agency Moodys.The NLB Groups strategy for the period 2010-2015 was approved.
2011
NLB played a major role in the issue of new Republic of Slovenia government bonds. Claude Deroose, member of NLB's Management Board, resigned. A capital increase of EUR 250 million was successfully completed. NLB received an award presented by the financial magazine Global Finance as the best Slovenian bank in 2011 for the fourteenth time in succession, and as the best Slovenian bank in the area of currency trading in 2011 for the eighth time in succession. Guy Snoeks was appointed new member of NLB's Management Board. The rating agency Moody's downgraded the NLB Group. A new long-term loan was raised by NLB in the amount of EUR 350 million.The sale of NLB Banka Sofia was successfully completed.NLB successfully passed the pan-European stress test.The rating agency Fitch downgraded the NLB Group. Božo Jašovič, President of NLB's Management Board, resigned.