Serbia

Serbia's state-run Postanska Stedionica (PS) bank took over the assets and 260,000 clients of troubled Nova Agrobanka on Monday, seeking to end a scandal that has rocked the country's financial system, Reuters reported. The move expands PS's assets to around 1 billion euros ($1.29 billion). Nova Agrobanka was formed as a bridge bank in May after the collapse of Agrobanka, which lost its licence over an unaudited 2011 loss of 29.7 billion dinars ($113.4 million). The state held a 20 percent stake in Agrobanka.

The minority shareholders of Agrobanka AD, a Serbian bank that reported a loss last year and was placed in receivership three months ago, demand another audit before the lender is overhauled, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. A new shareholders’ meeting to pick the auditor will be held by the end of April, Branislav Bogdanovic, chairman of AC Broker, a Belgrade-based brokerage, said in a phone interview on April 6. The bank, in which the government holds a 20 percent stake, had an unaudited 2011 loss of 29.7 billion dinar ($348 million).

Serbia will have to lay off about a fifth of its public sector -- 14,000 employees -- to meet conditions set by the International Monetary Fund to receive more financial aid, an official said Monday. Serbia's Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic said it is planning cost cuts before the government resumes its talks with the IMF on Oct. 20, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The International Monetary Fund reached a deal with Serbia on Thursday to provide a 27-month, 3 billion euro loan to help the country address its vulnerability to the financial crisis, The New York Times reported. The agreement for the loan of about $4 billion was announced at a news conference in Belgrade by Serbian government officials and Albert Jaeger, a fund representative. The deal, which still requires the approval of the monetary fund’s board in Washington, will force painful budget cuts on Serbia, the country’s finance minister, Diana Dragutinovic, told reporters.

Japan will offer up to 10 trillion yen ($105 billion) to the International Monetary Fund to bailout nations reeling from the global financial crisis, The Nikkei newspaper reported Thursday. Japanese officials have repeatedly said Tokyo is ready to provide some of its ample cash for IMF loans if the multilateral group doesn't have enough funds for bailouts. But the ministers have not given an amount. The Nikkei, the nation's top business daily, said the amount is likely to be about 10 percent of Japan's $1 trillion foreign currency reserves.