Hungarian state appeals against FHB's share issue plan

MBH Jelzalogbank Nyrt

30/12/2015 14:24

By Krisztina  Than 
    BUDAPEST, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Hungary has appealed against 
mortgage bank FHB's  FHBK.BU  decision to seek a cash injection 
via a share issue, asking a court to suspend a vote in favour of 
the issue at a recent shareholder meeting, state asset manager 
MNV said on Wednesday. 
    FHB had said it needed the money due to a recent tightening 
of capital requirements by its supervisory body, the National 
Bank of Hungary, taking effect from January 2016. And it said 
its lending expansion plans would also need additional capital. 
    Its shareholders cleared the bank to make the share issue at 
a meeting on Monday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N14H0P1 
    Yet MNV, which holds a 7.32 percent stake in FHB, said in a 
statement on its website that the bank had excluded it from the 
planned share issue, prompting it to seek the court ruling. 
    FHB had said it had decided to carry out the issue via a 
private placement, though it did not give a price for the new 
shares to be issued, did not say how much it planned to raise, 
and did not say who the buyers of the shares would be. 
    "With its decision made on December, 28, FHB had excluded 
the Hungarian state as minority shareholder, along with other 
minority shareholders, from the capital increase," MNV said in a 
statement on Wednesday. 
    FHB declined immediate comment.  
    The asset manager added that if the court ruled in its 
favour, all minority shareholders would have a right to a 
preferential subscription of new shares and would be able to 
participate in the issue. 
    Trading in FHB shares was suspended at the bank's request 
ahead of the announcement of the planned share issue on Monday. 
 
 (Editing by David Holmes) 
 ((krisztina.than@thomsonreuters.com; +36 1 327 4745; Reuters 
Messaging: krisztina.than.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: FHB HUNGARY/APPEAL