The Decisions adopted by the Governing Board on the occasion of its 292nd regular meeting on 16th June 2004

The Decisions adopted by the Governing Board on the occasion of its 292nd regular meeting:

1. At its 292nd Meeting, the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia dealt inter alia with monetary policy and within this scope not only with exchange rate policy but also with interest rate policy through setting the following new annual interest rates (in %):

• lombard lending: 5.00;
• 7 day foreign-currency SWAP: 1.50;
• 60-day tolar bills: 4.00;
• 270-day tolar bills: 4.25; and
• 7-day repurchase agreement: 4.50.

The new interest rates shall take effect on Thursday, 17 June 2004.

1. A Decision on the long-term deposit was adopted by the members of the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia, taking effect on 1 July 2004. The Bank of Slovenia will offer banks a possibility of placing a long-term tolar deposit in end-July 2004 and transform it into a transferable security upon the introduction of the euro as the currency of the Republic of Slovenia.
   
2. At its today´s Meeting, the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia also adopted the Recommendations on the Method of Calculating Interest Income for Business Conducted with the Households´ Sector, which should unify the calculation of interest income in banks and savings banks in this kind of business. The Recommendations of the Bank of Slovenia define simple interest income as the most appropriate and this should, in the opinion of the Bank of Slovenia, become good practice adopted by banks and savings banks in their business conducted with the households´ sector. This method is also normally used in banks´ practices of other countries in the calculation of interest income. The Recommendations of the Bank of Slovenia relate to the implementation of the calculation of interest income with reference to new agreements, leaving intact any contractual relationship already entered into, and the time limit for their enforcement expires one year after being adopted by the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia. The unification of the methods of calculating interest income should contribute to greater transparency of the business practices of banks and savings banks. The Bank of Slovenia shall examine the implementation of these Recommendations by the banking system after the expiry of a 1-year transitional period, whereby paying special attention to getting the rationale for the reasons for contingent deviations from the Recommendations identified.
   
3. The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia amended the Decision on the Capital Adequacy of Banks and Savings Banks, whereby extending the list of multilateral development banks in accordance with EC Directive No. 2004/69/EC, with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, also being ranked therein. Namely, the claims by banks to the multilateral banks included in the list of the above-mentioned Directive are favoured over other claims when being weighted for the purpose of the calculation of capital adequacy.
   
4. The members of the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia were also acquainted with the notification of signing the Memorandum of Understanding on mutual co-operation carried out by the supervisors of the Bank of Slovenia and those of the National Bank of Serbia. In accordance with the Recommendations of the Basel Committee, the Bank of Slovenia has signed 10 Memoranda of this kind up to now with banking supervisors coming from the following countries: the USA, Austria, Germany, Macedonia, Italy, France, Belgium, Montenegro, Bulgaria, as well as with supervisors coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina.