A regional court has ruled that the forced administration of Priemyselná banka, and the actions of its imposed management up to its sale to Slovenská sporiteľňa (SLSP) in 1999, were invalid.
The court ruled that the central bank had not acted in accordance with laws on banking in reaching its decision to impose forced administration on Priemyselná.
The ruling could now open the way for minority shareholders who opposed the administration and later sale to demand compensation from sporiteľňa, Slovakia's largest bank. SLSP eventually bought the assets of the bank for a nominal sum when the forced administration ended and the bank essentially folded.
Sporiteľňa has appealed against the ruling and the case will now go to the Supreme Court. The state will have to pay in the event the ruling goes against Sporiteľňa.
