Deposit guarantee fund

The Bank of Slovenia established a special deposit guarantee fund at the end of 2016 on the basis of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme Act (ZSJV). The fund is being financed by contributions from banks and savings banks established in Slovenia. The fund's assets may be used to make repayments of deposits covered by guarantee, and to finance resolution or compulsory winding-up measures which ensure that access to deposits covered by guarantee is maintained for depositors.

Size of deposit guarantee fund

The fund is financed by contributions from banks and savings banks established in Slovenia, wherein the first contribution in the amount of EUR 16 million was paid at the end of 2016. The target level of the fund is 0.8% of the total amount of all guaranteed deposits in Slovenia, which must be reached through banks’ ordinary annual contributions by 3 July 2024.

Deposits covered by guarantee amounted to EUR 24.37 billion as at 31 December 2021.

In the event of the deposit guarantee fund not having sufficient funds at its disposal to repay deposits covered by guarantee, the banks provide additional funds via extraordinary contributions, and the law also provides for the possibility of a short-term loan to be provided to the fund by the Republic of Slovenia, and a liquidity facility to be provided by the Bank of Slovenia subject to appropriate collateral.

Purpose of the fund

According to the ZSJV, the fund 's assets may be used for:

  1. the repayment of guaranteed deposits;
  2. financing resolution and compulsory winding-up measures to ensure that depositors maintain access to guaranteed deposits in accordance with the regulations on the resolution and winding-up of banks;
  3. covering costs relating to the repayment of guaranteed deposits;
  4. covering the costs of managing the fund;
  5. covering the costs of borrowing referred to in points (3) and (4) of the first paragraph (1) of Article 30 of the ZSJV. 

Investment policy and management costs

Pursuant to ZJSV, the deposit guarantee fund’s investment policy is defined by the Bank of Slovenia, taking into account the diversity of low-risk investments and ensuring the adequate availability of the fund’s investments for the purpose of the repayment of guaranteed deposits. The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia has set out the general framework of the deposit guarantee fund’s investment policy, and the scope, calculation and billing of the fund’s management costs via the Regulation on the investment policy and management cost of the deposit guarantee fund (in Slovene).

From 1 January 2019 the Bank of Slovenia manages the fund's assets in a single fund, together with assets of the bank resolution fund, in accordance with the abovementioned regulation.