WEBVTT

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Hello. I am glad to tell you that
Slovenia has joined the countries

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that have already offered
bonds to their citizens.

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The Ministry of Finance
will issue them on February 1

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with the maturity of three years.
Their value will be €250 million

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and the interest rate will be 3.4%,
which, I am sure, you want to know.

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The registration will take
place until February 16.

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The bonds are intended
for people of age

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with a permanent or temporary
residence in Slovenia.

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When the bonds
will go to the stock market,

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anybody will be able
to buy them.

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The minimum amount you can invest
is €1,000 and the maximum €100,000.

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If there will be a lot of interest,
a number of bonds

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for every investor
might be smaller

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than the amount they registered for,
but not less than €1,000.

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You can get
the bonds at 186 places

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across the country
through five distributors

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that work with our Ministry.
On our website,

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you will be able to find
the list of all the locations.

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The distributors are NLB,

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NKBM, PKS, SKB and Ilirika.

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There were a lot of questions
about trading accounts.

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Do we need one to buy bonds?

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The answer is yes.
I want to say

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that the Securities Clearing
Corporation and the distributors

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lowered their prices considerably
to make it more accessible.

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If you want to invest €10,000,
you will pay €20.

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The distributors
will publish the prices

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and they will provide you
with all the necessary information.

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When we passed
the Act on Reconstruction,

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Development and Provision
of Financial Resources,

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I mean the Act passed after
the floods, we made it possible

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for the interest rates
for investing in state securities,

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treasury bills and bonds

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issued in 2024,
2025 and 2026,

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to be the same as the rates
in banks when we pay tax returns.

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These interest rates,

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together with the interest rates
from deposits, will not be taxed

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up to €1,000.

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Today, we will publish

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answers to your questions
on our website.

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The bonds have various goals.

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The State Secretary
will tell you more about it.

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We want to boost
interest in capital markets.

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Small investors are still not aware
of the options well enough.

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Often, they only save in banks.
We are offering them an alternative.

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We want to improve
financial literacy and boost

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the participation
in such instruments,

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so that it will not only be
temporary. Now, I give the floor

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to the State Secretary. -Thank you.
Mrs. Nikolina Prah, go ahead.

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Thank you.
Hello from me as well.

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I will start with the strategy
to develop our capital market

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until 2030.
The Government passed it last March.

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One of the measures
in the strategy

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is the issue of state bonds

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for small investors.
As it has already been stressed,

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we had to think
about the goals

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we could achieve by it.
One is connected to the state loan

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and its effective management,
and the other goal

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is to develop the market.
We studied various conditions

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for the issue of state bonds,
their amount,

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the maturity, interest rate,

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finding as many distributors
as possible

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that will provide the registration
and the necessary information.

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I will focus on the goals regarding
the development of the market.

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With the participation
of small investors

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that will buy bonds,

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the capital market
will be better known.

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The financial literacy will improve
and the interest will grow.

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State bonds are
a loan instrument

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issued by the state,
with which the state guarantees

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to pay for all obligations,

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the principal amount
and the interests.

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This means it
is a safe instrument

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and can be a great alternative
to bank deposits.

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As we all know
and hear in the media,

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people have €29 billion
saved in bank deposits.

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The state bonds are an instrument
that can be an alternative

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and we can increase
the value of our assets.

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The risk is small,

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but if an individual

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will want to get their money
before these three years,

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they will be able to sell the bonds
at the stock exchange.

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In this case, they will depend
on the situation at that moment

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and the price
can be higher or lower,

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depending on
the trading situation.

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After we passed the strategy,
we worked

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for this issue to be good

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and successful, that people
will see the benefits of the market

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and the possibility
to save there

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and increase
the value of their assets,

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for the economy
to take loans there

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and for the state
to increase its recognisability

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on international markets. Thank you.
-Thank you.

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Now,
it is time for questions.

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First, the journalists here.
Go to the microphone,

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introduce yourselves

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and ask the question.
I ask you to stick to the topic

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of today's conference.
Go ahead.

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Brigita Potočnik, Pop TV. I have
a question for Mr. Boštjančič.

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Are you worried about the mistrust?
How do you address that?

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How to convince people?

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I believe the issue
will be successful.

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As the State Secretary said,

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we follow
various goals with it.

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One of them, actually,
the most important one ...

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It is a small part
of our big goal

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to develop
our capital market.

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The bonds are
a small part of it,

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but they will contribute to it.
We believe

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the maturity and interest rate
which is better than at banks

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will be interesting.

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The state guarantees the pay
and there should not be any doubt

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whether people
will get the money or not.

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It is a save investment.
On the other hand,

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it is also very important

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and this is why
the issue took some time,

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that the bonds are liquid

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and people will be able
to trade with them.

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Contrary to other countries
where there is no trade,

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we put a lot of attention to it
and we believe

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that after the first phase,

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the trade at the stock market
will be vivid.

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This is one of our goals.

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Those who will show interest

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and register these bonds

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will have, if they want,
the option of selling them

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on the stock exchange,
just like any other securities.

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This process will be very easy,

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so if someone doesn't want
to be the owner for three years,

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they can simply sell it
on the stock market.

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Mr Boštjančič, how do you feel
as the new Deputy Prime Minister?

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How do you understand
Golob's move?

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Thank you for the question.

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I understand it as trust,
I understand it positively, so...

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The Prime Minister and I
have cooperated splendidly so far.

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I believe that this alone
will not change anything, but...

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The responsibility
is even greater because of that.

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You're continuing negotiations
about the salary system.

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How do you expect them to go?
-Excuse me,

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can we please first exhaust
the topic of the retail bond?

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Maybe there will be
some time left for other topics.

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Go ahead.
-Andreja Lončar, Forbes Slovenia.

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You said you talked about trading
accounts with five distributors.

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Did you talk about
a coordinated price

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or will they make offers

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with a discount
based on their market prices?

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Thank you for the question.

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Yes, the negotiations took place with
each bank or distributor individually,

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each bank checked what its options
are for determining the price,

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so they are not uniform
for all banks,

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each adjusted them according
to their own business decisions

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and goals pursued by this issuing.

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This issuing is quite small,
but are there any systemic risks

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or something
you will be looking at?

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How will the issuing
of retail bonds affect,

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for example, the situation
in the banking system and so on?

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When determining
the size of the issuing,

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i.e. 250 million euros,
as I mentioned earlier,

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the goal regarding the government
borrowing was, of course, included.

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This amount
was judged to be suitable,

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since it will not cause
additional burdens

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for the budget
or for the system.

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Will you two buy retail bonds,
are you planning on participating?

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Nikolina, go ahead.

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Yes, I'm planning on participating.

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So am I, probably.

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Go ahead.

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Marjeta Bogataj, Demokracija.

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Two questions
from our editorial office.

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I'll read them both.

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You've stated some of the reasons why
the Government decided to issue bonds,

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some say it's because
it's on the verge of bankruptcy.

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What do you say about that?

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Sorry?

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What did you say? Because the state
is on the verge of bankruptcy?

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I don't know, this should be explained
by people who ask such nonsense.

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I don't think
it's even worth answering

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such silly questions
or concerns.

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I prefer to work
with numbers and concrete data.

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These are populist statements,
which, as I said,

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are not even worth
commenting on. -Okay.

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You've also talked about trust.

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The fact is that the citizens
have already been dispossessed twice.

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For the first time,
in the case of NKBM,

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and for the second time, in the case
of subordinated bonds in NLB.

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How do you guarantee
that this time will be different,

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that the bonds
will not be confiscated again?

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Will members of the Government
guarantee with personal property?

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In short, what will be different
this time? Thank you.

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Let me first answer for the past.
As you said, these are old problems.

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I would be happy if the people
who made those decisions at the time

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would take responsibility,
at least politically,

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but unfortunately,
that is not the case in politics.

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I believe this question
is aimed at quite a few politicians

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who are still
very active in politics,

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and at that time supported

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or urged residents
to certain transactions

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that later turned out
not to be optimal.

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The Ministry of Finance
is still dealing with this today,

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we're still solving past problems.

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Regarding subordinated bonds,

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we're actually very close
to preparing a new bill

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which will address this.

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As for that instrument,
as I said,

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of course, these bonds will be
traded on the stock exchange.

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If you want to sell early,

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the supply and demand will determine
what the price will be at that time.

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We will warn people of that
in advance.

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Of course,
there are certain risks,

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but these risks are connected
with trading on the stock exchange.

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In the context of the risk
that it would not be repaid,

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of course,
there are no such risks.

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Perhaps the State Secretary...
-Just a couple of explanations,

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especially regarding
the difference between

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an instrument
such as a government bond

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or a share
of a joint-stock company.

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A government bond,
as we already explained today,

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is a debt instrument
issued by the state,

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and the state guarantees
a fulfilment of all its obligations.

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The issuer,
in this case the state,

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therefore owes
the bondholder their contribution,

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and it also
pays them certain interests.

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As mentioned, the Republic of
Slovenia has a good credit rating,

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it is well recognised
on the international markets,

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and there is no fear of serious
problems within three years,

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as was also explained.

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Shareholders, on the other hand,
become owners of the company.

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They get certain rights, such as
the right to vote, to dividends,

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to repayment of a certain share
in case of bankruptcy.

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Which means that the issuer
of the share doesn't guarantee

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any reimbursement
of this investment,

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but the profits actually depend on
the company's business performance.

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NKBM was found
to be performing poorly.

00:17:12.683 --> 00:17:15.313
Because it's a bank,
there were certain procedures,

00:17:15.434 --> 00:17:19.793
extraordinary write-offs. This
also applies to subordinated bonds.

00:17:19.914 --> 00:17:22.856
For this situation to be repeated
with the current issuing

00:17:22.977 --> 00:17:29.295
of short-term government bonds
intended for small investors...

00:17:29.416 --> 00:17:31.100
Given the current situation,

00:17:31.221 --> 00:17:34.404
the chances of that
are very small or insignificant.

00:17:34.525 --> 00:17:36.125
Go ahead.

00:17:36.673 --> 00:17:42.035
Adi Omerović, Pop TV/Kanal A.
I have two questions.

00:17:42.156 --> 00:17:46.208
An interesting piece of information,
29 billion are already in deposits,

00:17:46.329 --> 00:17:48.802
six months ago,
it was 26, 27 billion.

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Obviously,
deposits are growing a lot.

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But we have 250 million
intended for this.

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Are you planning
an additional round?

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If it's successful,
if there's a lot of interest.

00:18:05.870 --> 00:18:10.824
Considering the large amount
of money in deposits,

00:18:10.945 --> 00:18:13.708
250 million
is a very low amount.

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Thank you for the question. This is
the first issuing of its kind.

00:18:18.443 --> 00:18:23.501
As I mentioned, we need to consider
the directions or the goals

00:18:23.622 --> 00:18:26.258
we're pursuing
with government borrowing.

00:18:26.379 --> 00:18:31.070
Since we cannot say for sure what
the population's response will be,

00:18:31.191 --> 00:18:36.276
the first issuing of 250 million
was estimated to be appropriate.

00:18:36.397 --> 00:18:40.505
When this issuing is completed,
we will review its performance,

00:18:40.626 --> 00:18:46.011
and then also adopt possible
further solutions in this direction.

00:18:47.550 --> 00:18:52.631
We have two questions online.
Jurij Šimac, Finance, go ahead.

00:18:57.547 --> 00:19:01.053
Hello, Jurij Šimac,
Finance newspaper.

00:19:01.174 --> 00:19:06.539
A question regarding the upper limit
you also mentioned.

00:19:06.660 --> 00:19:09.907
There are concerns

00:19:10.028 --> 00:19:15.225
that the limit of 100,000 euros
may be set a bit low.

00:19:15.345 --> 00:19:19.911
Considering that
the planned issuing is 250 million,

00:19:20.032 --> 00:19:23.996
what happens in the event
that there is not enough demand?

00:19:24.117 --> 00:19:29.397
Could you raise this threshold
or open the door for registration

00:19:29.518 --> 00:19:33.703
to some institutional investors
or something like that? Thank you.

00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.745
Let me first answer
about the 100,000 euros.

00:19:38.866 --> 00:19:42.376
Our colleagues
in the Treasury Directorate,

00:19:42.497 --> 00:19:45.011
who worked intensively
on this issuing,

00:19:45.132 --> 00:19:47.535
decided that 100,000
is the limit

00:19:47.656 --> 00:19:51.850
that separates small investors
from big investors.

00:19:52.899 --> 00:19:55.001
They also looked at

00:19:55.122 --> 00:19:59.008
how this distinction
was made in other countries.

00:19:59.111 --> 00:20:02.736
100 000 euros was seen
as an appropriate limit.

00:20:03.509 --> 00:20:06.743
Regarding the
follow-up question,

00:20:07.712 --> 00:20:11.556
what will we do
in the case of lower demand?

00:20:16.868 --> 00:20:23.954
I can only ... Go ahead.
-This is the first issuance.

00:20:24.962 --> 00:20:29.251
In truth,
as Nikolina explained,

00:20:29.696 --> 00:20:33.343
by issuing bonds
we are trying to balance

00:20:33.665 --> 00:20:40.798
between aiding or boosting the
capital market and related impacts

00:20:41.103 --> 00:20:43.524
and, on the other hand,

00:20:43.977 --> 00:20:49.728
incentivising banks
to increase deposit interest rates,

00:20:49.966 --> 00:20:54.577
while constantly observing
our primary interest,

00:20:55.064 --> 00:20:57.631
our treasury's borrowing.

00:20:57.854 --> 00:21:03.182
This is a constant
balancing act.

00:21:03.303 --> 00:21:07.144
Slovenia is still borrowing
very favourably,

00:21:07.265 --> 00:21:12.349
most favourably of all Central
and Eastern European countries.

00:21:12.576 --> 00:21:18.724
There is a number of reasons for
this, which I can explain later.

00:21:18.983 --> 00:21:24.483
We are also constantly making sure
that issuances such as this one,

00:21:24.604 --> 00:21:27.188
which is a short-term issuance,

00:21:27.309 --> 00:21:30.476
as the average obligation
is ten years,

00:21:31.647 --> 00:21:35.397
do not negatively affect
our position

00:21:35.780 --> 00:21:39.600
in a classic issuance
of government bonds.

00:21:40.553 --> 00:21:44.553
One more explanation
regarding the interest rate.

00:21:45.246 --> 00:21:48.958
We issued the first bond
at the start of the year.

00:21:50.223 --> 00:21:54.057
We actually did this
at a very favourable time,

00:21:54.189 --> 00:22:00.122
when demand for ten-year government
bond yields was at its lowest.

00:22:00.514 --> 00:22:04.202
The interest rate
at the time was 3.04 %.

00:22:04.323 --> 00:22:08.323
The demanded yield
for a ten-year government bond

00:22:08.444 --> 00:22:11.300
is now between 3.3 and 3.4 %.

00:22:11.421 --> 00:22:15.057
That is why we were able
to raise the interest rate.

00:22:15.178 --> 00:22:20.484
But, as we said,
you have to constantly take care.

00:22:21.566 --> 00:22:25.957
Some media reported,
quite uncritically,

00:22:26.145 --> 00:22:29.191
just on the positive part
of the issuance.

00:22:29.312 --> 00:22:33.674
Again, the Ministry of Finance
is in a constant balancing act.

00:22:33.795 --> 00:22:41.377
One goal that we will be pursuing
and will not deviate from

00:22:41.498 --> 00:22:46.890
is that borrowing via our
classic issuances or bonds

00:22:47.011 --> 00:22:49.595
will remain
at its current level

00:22:49.716 --> 00:22:54.887
and that such issuances
do not have any negative impacts.

00:22:55.008 --> 00:23:00.590
This is very successful, the bonds
we are issuing are very solvent

00:23:00.868 --> 00:23:05.285
and have the lowest yields
among comparable countries.

00:23:05.811 --> 00:23:09.147
If I may add one more thing.

00:23:09.314 --> 00:23:13.090
If the demand of small investors,
natural persons,

00:23:13.211 --> 00:23:16.215
will be lower
than the expected issuance,

00:23:16.419 --> 00:23:21.343
that will be an important signal
for our adoption of measures,

00:23:21.464 --> 00:23:24.694
tied to the development
of the capital market

00:23:24.822 --> 00:23:29.656
and a key indicator of gaps
where we need to be more active

00:23:29.777 --> 00:23:34.026
in order to bring this instrument
closer to small investors.

00:23:34.183 --> 00:23:37.120
The treasury bill
will still be an option.

00:23:37.241 --> 00:23:39.991
It is a more
short-term obligation

00:23:40.112 --> 00:23:44.081
and may also be more appropriate
for small investors.

00:23:44.253 --> 00:23:46.979
We do believe
that this government bond

00:23:47.222 --> 00:23:49.573
is an appropriate,
safe instrument

00:23:49.694 --> 00:23:52.479
and a good alternative
to bank deposits.

00:23:52.600 --> 00:23:56.667
Thank you. We have a question
online from Bloomberg Adria.

00:23:59.316 --> 00:24:06.797
You mentioned that deposits are
an alternative to public bonds.

00:24:06.918 --> 00:24:12.206
How motivated will Slovenian banks
be to offer this instrument

00:24:12.438 --> 00:24:15.797
compared to the deposits
that they also offer?

00:24:16.102 --> 00:24:20.570
That was the first question,
the second ...

00:24:26.461 --> 00:24:32.102
Are you also perhaps considering
simplifying the process itself?

00:24:33.164 --> 00:24:37.523
The second question was inaudible,
could you please repeat it?

00:24:40.219 --> 00:24:43.053
Croatia
is considering digitalising

00:24:43.174 --> 00:24:47.414
the process of purchasing
government debt instruments.

00:24:47.648 --> 00:24:50.796
Are you also considering
something like that?

00:24:51.633 --> 00:24:56.550
The role of banks. -I will answer
the second question first.

00:24:56.789 --> 00:25:00.375
Again, this first issuance
is a test of the market.

00:25:00.503 --> 00:25:04.171
As I said, I believe
that it will succeed.

00:25:04.328 --> 00:25:06.078
As my colleague said,

00:25:06.199 --> 00:25:10.080
if the demand
will be lower than we expect,

00:25:10.208 --> 00:25:14.958
it will be an indicator of how
we are gauging the populace

00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:17.439
with regard
to such an instrument,

00:25:17.560 --> 00:25:21.546
which means we likely
have to work on financial literacy,

00:25:21.667 --> 00:25:24.251
which is also
an important goal,

00:25:24.372 --> 00:25:28.251
as financial literacy
in Slovenia is very low.

00:25:28.808 --> 00:25:33.706
Let us wait for the issuance
and then see how to proceed.

00:25:35.433 --> 00:25:43.433
I would like to point out again
that, as far as I know,

00:25:44.409 --> 00:25:47.576
the bonds in Croatia
are very insolvent

00:25:47.697 --> 00:25:51.222
and there is very little
trading going on.

00:25:51.343 --> 00:25:54.093
I believe
there will be more here.

00:25:54.479 --> 00:26:00.288
We made sure that it got listed
on the stock exchange

00:26:00.409 --> 00:26:04.243
and can be traded easily
like other securities.

00:26:05.783 --> 00:26:10.439
That is why I believe
we will be more successful.

00:26:10.783 --> 00:26:15.861
For everything else, we will see
once the first step has been made.

00:26:16.313 --> 00:26:21.397
What was the first question?
-Why would banks offer this bond,

00:26:21.518 --> 00:26:24.935
which is an alternative
to their deposits?

00:26:25.056 --> 00:26:31.211
As Nikolina said,
we talked to several banks.

00:26:31.667 --> 00:26:36.001
They are interested,
although not to the same degree,

00:26:36.122 --> 00:26:41.501
but interested enough for this
issuance to succeed, I think.

00:26:43.783 --> 00:26:47.478
One more question.
Go ahead.

00:26:47.704 --> 00:26:51.788
The bond in Croatia
was not traded much.

00:26:51.909 --> 00:26:56.493
Why do you think that this bond
will be traded here more

00:26:56.614 --> 00:26:58.531
before it even matures?

00:27:00.173 --> 00:27:03.542
This is an option
offered to small investors

00:27:03.663 --> 00:27:07.736
so that, if they need their funds
before the bond matures,

00:27:07.857 --> 00:27:11.357
they have the option
of selling their bonds

00:27:11.478 --> 00:27:15.856
on an organised,
transparent market.

00:27:16.103 --> 00:27:20.560
This is an additional incentive
for small investors

00:27:21.271 --> 00:27:23.897
to own this instrument.

00:27:25.076 --> 00:27:29.522
There are no more questions.
Excuse me.

00:27:30.014 --> 00:27:31.694
Thank you, everyone.

00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:37.648
We are always available to answer
any additional questions.

00:27:37.836 --> 00:27:40.003
Thank you both.
-Thank you.