Last week, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia published a response from the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability, and the Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness, to a joint letter from the finance ministers of Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia (dated May 28, 2024) and their initiative for further development of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and the strengthening of EU competitiveness. VZMD explicitly supports such initiatives and expresses satisfaction that the Ministry finally listened to their arguments and specific proposals aimed at encouraging citizens and society to unleash significant investment potential, which should be directed towards boosting the economy, strengthening capital markets, and ensuring long-term sustainable financial security and stability. VZMD has addressed numerous letters, warnings, and constructive proposals to the Ministry on this matter.
In order for the capital market to function and develop appropriately, VZMD believes that trust among stakeholders is crucial. They have been monitoring relevant legislation and regulations for many years and actively participating at both the level of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union. VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, as a member of the Financial Services User Group (FSUG) at the European Commission, actively participated in preparing several opinions that the European Commission considers in its decisions, emphasizing constructive collaboration with Commissioner McGuinness, who has consistently supported individual investors and small shareholders. VZMD, together with its sister European associations under the umbrella of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (BETTER FINANCE), also participated in preparing a position on the European Commission's Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) Proposal Package, which was also submitted to the Ministry of Finance - www.vzmd.si/images/documents/RIS-Position-Paper.pdf
The Association hopes that the Government of the Republic of Slovenia would more frequently consider civil society - also in the financial and economic sphere - highlighting the Bill on Judicial Relief Granted to Former Holders of Qualified Bank Credit (ZPSVIKOB), during the adoption of which many of VZMD's well-argued warnings and constructive comments and proposals were unfortunately ignored. The unjustified erasure of shares and bonds of Slovenian banks, where more than 100,000 people have been waiting for justice or at least any substantive court decision for over 10 years, has undoubtedly sown great distrust in the state and its capital market. Shortly after the dispossession, a new nail was driven into the coffin of the Slovenian capital market with the abolition of 200,000 free registry accounts at KDD. VZMD had already warned of the negative consequences (VIDEO: https://youtu.be/32SX5GS24aE) and even expropriation or nationalization of some shareholders' assets, which later occurred. At that time, the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia at least partially heeded the Association's warnings and limited the costs of trading accounts with the Book Entry Securities Act (VIDEO: https://365.rtvslo.si/arhiv/seje-odbora-za-finance-in-monetarno-politiko/174434347), which financial intermediaries quickly managed to annul through the Constitutional Court. Ultimately, managers of state assets, who often make decisions on behalf of the Republic of Slovenia without considering the consequences for other, smaller stakeholders, should also work to improve the trust of individual investors and citizens in general. Therefore, the decision makers and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia will need to look in the mirror and ask also themselves what they could do to improve trust in the Slovenian capital market, in addition to writing to the European Commission…
Other Related Activities:
BRUSSELS – three high-profile international conferences with active participation of the VZMD - 18.04.2024
www.vzmd.si – More on the VZMD – PanSlovenian Investors & Stakeholders Association
www.vzmd.tv and www.investo.tv – Over 300 videos from VZMD.TV and investo.tv
www.investo.si – More on the investo.si – Invest to Slovenia Program
www.investo.international – More on the network of 75 national organizations of shareholders and investors
