Slovenian bank NLB to buy back up to 2 pct of own shares

LJUBLJANA: Slovenia's largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) may buy back just over 36,500 of its shares or some 2 percent of the bank's shares over the next three years, NLB said in a statement on Monday.

It said the share buyback plan has to be confirmed at a shareholders' meeting on June 10. NLB said it would use those shares to reward its employees but did not say how much it planned to spend on the purchases.

The government, which holds 35 percent of NLB, plans to sell another 10 percent of the bank by the end of this year after it sold 65 percent through an IPO in November. It will keep 25 percent in NLB to have a say in key business decisions.