The VZMD is extremely concerned over the report that the Securities Market Agency (ATVP), Insurance Supervision Agency (AZN) and the Bank of Slovenia (BS) again issued »recommendations« and measures for non-distribution of profits in 2021 as well. Due to these measures, many companies have not been paying dividends and sharing profits with its owners despite many of them having reaped record profits. Instead of it, the ever growing bureaucracy is heading for a disaster on the capital market, shareholders and the pension insurance fund as well as the revenues from taxes, which will further deter investors from Slovenia and its increasingly crony or rather bureaucratic - planning anti-economy. The VZMD is again making a plea to all regulators who have been planning drastic general measures in the comfort of their offices to, by any means, show any expert analyses (?!) which would at least partly justify such decisions and measures.

On Friday the news broke that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia (CC) had issued a decision posing a series of questions in the procedure for the constitutional review of the Act on Judicial Protection Procedure for Former Holders of Eligible Liabilities of Banks (ZPSVIKOB) initiated by the Bank of Slovenia (BS) thus causing a further departure from the solution which the unjustly canceled/expropriated investors have been expecting for the last 7 years.

After thorough examination, the VZMD has concluded that the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg has not reached any definite decision on the meaning or legal nature of any document crucial to determine whether the wipe-out or expropriation of the minority shareholders and holders of subordinated bonds at the end of 2013 was valid. European Court of Justice supported its decision with the fact that, due to noncooperation of Slovenian authorities, it was not possible to determine which specific documents pertain to the archives of the European Central Bank (ECB), and has therefore made a general decision. The VZMD otherwise welcomes the finding that the ECB archives are untouchable, but is simultaneously surprised that apparently the VZMD is the only entity in the Republic of Slovenia that has managed to obtain a relevant finding from the ECB regarding the legal nature of the "appraisals" of the property and finances of the Slovenian banks at the end of 2013.

On Wednesday, the traditional investors' conference of the German shareholders' association (DSW) and the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) will take place, this year titled "European Capital Markets’ Union & the new Green Deal". Based on the decision by the German Federal State of Hessen last week, the conference - which was supposed to take place in Frankfurt (initially in Wiesbaden), and which is organized by the DSW and Better Finance - was moved to an online-only format due to the aggravated epidemiological situation. More than 250 participants have already registered for the event online, whereby 80% come from as many as 25 different countries. The conference will be BROADCAST LIVE live here: https://broadcast-server.de/dsw-konferenz/ - it starts on 2 December at 9 a.m. CET.

At the beginning of December, Frankfurt will host the traditional investors' conference entitled  "European Capital Markets’ Union & the new Green Deal" this year. One day before the conference, also the annual general meeting and sessions of committees of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users will take place (Better Finance). One of the pivotal investors' meetings in the EU, which is normally attended by hundreds of guests from all over the world, is organized by the German shareholders' association (DSW) and Better Finance every two years. In order to be staged efficiently, the conference will take place in Frankfurt, and not in Wiesbaden this time as the attendees will be able to attend the event both in person for invitees only, as well as virtually.

From the perspective of the Germany's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the issues of the banking union and capital market union will be initially addressed by the State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. Jörg Kukies, to be followed by multiple panels and lectures about company transformation, sustainable and active investments, challenges of the capital markets union, virtual general meetings of shareholders, etc. One of the prominent speakers will also be European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, Ms. Mairead McGuinness, and European Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Didier Reynders. Nevertheless, apart from the most prominent representatives of the European and national institutions at the conference, the viewpoints were shared by numerous influential decision makers and representatives of management of global corporations such as Allianz, Blackrock, Deutsche Börse, Deutsche Post, Henkel, NASDAQ, SAP, UniCredit Bank AG, etc. Many of them will be participating this year as well.

As an invitee, the event will be attended in person by the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, who is also a member of the Executive Board of Better Finance. The VZMD with its international business-investor programs Invest to Slovenia (investo.si) and International Investors` Network (investo.international) has been attending the high profile biennial conference actively for the last 15 years. This time too, the activities and opportunities brought by investo.si and investo.international will be presented. 

On Friday, the VZMD sent an appeal and a warning to the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, calling to be extremely cautious and prudent when making the forecast arrangements for remote annual general meetings, since rushing and the premise of assumed efficiency may generate extremely controversial solutions. In fact, the Government is planning to include in the PKP6 the possibility of virtual and electronic general meetings of public limited companies. At the VZMD, they welcome such initiatives, but they at the same time bring attention to the extremely controversial provision that would exclude the possibility to contest resolutions made at virtual and electronic general meetings. The institute of contesting resolutions of the general meetings is, in fact, often the one and only fender of protection of rights of (minority) shareholders. Therefore, the VZMD strongly opposes any such limitations.

Today at 1:00 p.m. (Slovene time) the international web conference “Prospects for developing cooperation between Russia and Slovenia in the post-pandemic period”, organized by Moscow Chamber of Commerce (MCCI), will take place. The participants and prominent guests will discuss the past and the current examples of cooperation between the Russian and the Slovene business entities and business communities, and will attempt to define the priority areas for strengthening and developing the cooperation in light of next perspectives, as well as estimate the difficulties and potential complications related to sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (Better Finance) published a series of opinions, proposals, and measures that have been drawn up by investor associations from all around Europe. With this, they are aiming to provide clear information and guidance for individual investors and financial services users across all EU Member States. The European Federation of Investors (VZMD is one of the founding members) warns that the COVID-19 pandemic in connection with its emergency confinement measures has severely disrupted capital markets. As a result, EU citizens as investors and savers are feeling the immense pressure, and will be among the first in line to suffer from the economic and financial fallout that will undoubtedly ensue following the large array of different financial measures taken by governments and financial institutions.

The VZMD adamantly opposes the call by the Slovenian Directors’ Association (ZNS) to directors and managers of companies, not to distribute profit or to distribute it partially. In this regard, the VZMD has made a point that the decision about the dividend payout should be the concern of the owners or shareholders respectively, and due to a fact that the dividends are to be paid out from (portion) of the profit earned by the companies in previous years, and not in the year to date. 

At the VZMD, we strictly observe and adhere to the recommendations and limitations that have been adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the National Institute of Public Health with regard to the epidemic and the pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), and will promptly continue to do so down the road. Nevertheless, we continue to conduct all business operations, efforts, and activities to the fullest extent possible. That means that our information office continues to be fully operative for all security owners, investors, thousands of signatories of the Shareholder’s Agreements, and more than 1,500 "members" of the Share SUPPORT (VIDEO) civil society. In addition, our associates remain available for all interested parties and those included in the international business-investor programs Invest to Slovenia - investo.si and International Investors' Network – invest-to.net, despite the fact that given the circumstances, the majority of the main international events have been postponed to the following months.