KTB Shareholders Seek Sofia Meeting to Prepare Rescue Plan

The main shareholders in Bulgaria's Corpbank (KTB) are seeking a meeting in Sofia next week to conduct due diligence on the bank and prepare a plan for its recovery.

Newswires quoted Vienna-based EPIC Financial Consulting as saying in a statement on Friday that KTB's main shareholders want to draft a plan for the restructuring and recapitalization of the troubled lender following "a full due diligence process" to be conducted by EPIC.

EPIC said that it had sent a letter to Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governor Ivan Iskrov, interim Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki and Finance Minister Rumen Porozhanov, seeking their support to work together on a recovery plan for KTB.

The owners were also working with new prospective investors, EPIC added.

"This proposal for a sustainable solution is in the best interest of the bank, its clients, partners and shareholders as well as in the interest of the stability of the Bulgarian banking sector," the financial consultancy said.

EPIC said it had made the approach to the Bulgarian authorities on behalf of the bank's key shareholders - majority owner Tsvetan Vasilev,  the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) of Oman and Russia's VTB Group.

VTB had previously said that it would not provide liquidity or capital to KTB, which the BNB placed under special supervision in June following a run on deposits. The BNB suspended all of KTB's operations and ordered a full audit of its books, to be completed by October 20.

Tsvetan Vassilev controls just over 50% of KTB, SGRF  owns about 30% and VTB Capital, part of VTB Bank, has a stake of about 9%.