The announcement early last month that Slovenia’s Nova Ljubljanska Bank Group (NLB) had acquired an 81% interest in the Sarajevo-headquartered Tuzlunska Bank in Bosnia & Herzegovina followed its acquisition in August of 92.4% of Razvojna banka Jugoistocne Evrope, headquartered in Banja Luka. The plan is to merge Razvojna banka with the NLB subsidiary in Banja Luka, LHB Banka, to provide a bank with 53 branches, covering the region’s major towns. NLB has yet to announce its intentions for the Tuzlunska acquisition but a merger with its subsidiary in Sarajevo, CBS Bank, is likely. The combined bank would have a 40-branch network and about 6% market share.
The Bosnian banking sector had already shrunk to 28 banks from more than 50 in 2000, and it is likely to decline further. However, the number of bank employees has risen from 6986 in 2000 to 7839 in 2004, according to central bank figures.
