Yesterday, the competent authorities in Slovenia received letters with a call for action due to detrimental effects of abolishing registry accounts. In the letter the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, pointed out that the VZMD had been contacted recently by worried and anxious minority shareholders who have received alarming letters, had to take alarming phone calls and have received invitations to alarming meetings probably with the intention of burdening their continued ownership of own securities with disproportionate costs in order for the"financial industry" to yet again benefit from disproportionate earnings.
"There is no reason for minority shareholders and securities owners to worry over abolishing registry accounts. Together with our associates at VZMD we discovered the traps of this proccess more than a year ago, and have mitigated some of the effects in certain important aspects; we are, however, still actively monitoring the developments on the capital market. By putting suitable pressure on the relevant decision-makers and presenting founded and constructive suggestions, we also ensure that the European harmonization process and abolishing registry accounts does not turn into the process of the final abolishment and elimination of minority shareholders in the Republic of Slovenia," was pointed out by Mr. Verbič upon the issue of the written call.
VZMD is the only institution in the Republic of Slovenia which represents minority shareholders and individual investors and looks after their interests, and advocates better corporate governance in order to achieve this. When the first draft of the legal basis for abolishing registry accounts was published, the VZMD immediately recognized the catastrophic effects this process could have on the traditionally strong presence of minority shareholders in Slovenia if this turned into an economic expulsion of over 200,000 minority shareholders from public limited companies.
The VZMD President pointed out: "Despite the powerful actors and interests which we opposed, we were able to improve the position of the minority shareholders in several important aspects of the legislative process compared to the initially envisaged and espoused solutions. Among other things, we achieved an extension of the deadline for abolishing registry accounts for natural persons, an introduction of the possibility for renouncing securities without any costs, free court deposit as a transitional form of extending ownership for the most vulnerable minority shareholders group, and a significant restriction and reduction of certain tariff rates of the financial intermediaries."
The VZMD is aware that during this time minority shareholders have become an advertising target for financial intermediaries whose only goal is to burden minority shareholders continued ownership of securities with disproportionate costs in order for the financial industry to yet again create disproportionately high income and yields. VZMD's associates continued their efforts by preparing a call for action addressed to all those who are responsible for the situation on the Slovenian capital market and the existence of minority shareholders in the Republic of Slovenia (President of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Finance, Securities Market Agency (ATVP), Bank of Slovenia, Central Securities Clearing Corporation (KDD) and the Ljubljana Stock Exchange). In the call, they were urged to act immediately in order to prevent that the process of abolishing registry accounts is turned into a process of abolishing minority shareholders in the Republic of Slovenia through a general sale which would have a negative impact not only on minority shareholders, but even more so on shares' issuers, majority shareholders, and the securities market as a whole due to the exchange rate fall. The VZMD expects to be informed by the competent authorities of their actions; however, they do not only rely on them but will continue to find suitable solutions for a long-term economic sustainability of minority shareholders in the Republic of Slovenia.
With regard to the above, the VZMD is also urging minority shareholders not to make any rash decisions regarding selling their securities or to accept any disproportionately high costs offered by certain self-proclaimed advisors."We are certain that not all possibilities for minority shareholders have been exhausted. Instead, the responsible actors for the development of the capital market in the Republic of Slovenia have to do much more to prove that the ongoing process is actually directed toward European harmonization and not the eradication and elimination of minority shareholders," said Mr. Verbič upon signing the call for action.
Especially thanks to the VZMD, minority shareholders still have enough time (definitely by January 1, 2017) to carefully monitor all alternatives regarding their continued shares' ownership which will come about during this time, and to not give into illusions of being trapped and having no alternatives which some actors motivated with their own interests would like them to believe.
The VZMD will continue to inform the public of their efforts, results and possibilities which are available to minority shareholders for maintaining a financially sustainable ownership of their shares. They expect to be joined in such efforts by shares' issuers since the fate of their shareholders and consequently the fate of trading with their shares is at stake.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT - VZMD also lodged a proposal for the temporary decree for PROHIBITING THE SALE OF Nova KBM bank - to prevent direct damage to the Republic of Slovenia and its citizens
STRESS TESTS – new and obvious proof of the extremely unequal adjudication of Slovenian banks – are they guilty in Brussels or Ljubljana, and what are their motives? The PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD) has called on the Bank of Slovenia (BA) and the European Central Bank (ECB) to explain, why only in Slovenia are we left to use »static«and extremely pessimistic assumptions, while in other countries and banks of the EU fresh data and »dynamic«valuations are used and even allow for
Yesterday, the competent authorities in Slovenia received letters with a call for action due to detrimental effects of abolishing registry accounts. In the letter the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, pointed out that the VZMD had been contacted recently by worried and anxious minority shareholders who have received alarming letters, had to take alarming phone calls and have received invitations to alarming meetings probably with the intention of burdening their continued ownership of own securities with disproportionate costs in order for the"financial industry" to yet again benefit from disproportionate earnings.
