(ANSA) - LUBIANA - Slovenia's Finance Minister Mateja Vranicar Erman proposed to the European Commission to proceed with the appointment of an independent trustee, following an international public call, that will act in the name and on behalf of the state in the process of privatization of Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB).

The minister's trip to Brussels had only the purpose to gain some time, because in a press release reported by Slovenian public television, the EC underlined that ''the sale of state-owned NLB is an important commitment to ensure the long-term sustainability of the bank, and on this basis the Commission has approved substantial state aid in 2013''.

According to the press release, the Commission, at the request of Slovenia, approved in May a gradual sale in two phases, and now it is up to Ljubljana to honour commitments. In the first nine months of 2017, the NLB Group had a net generated income of 184mn, with a forecast of more than 200mn by the end of the year, while in 2016 the profit was 91.5mn million. (ANSA).