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Finance Minister, Central Bank Governor upbeat about euro switch29 December 2006
With only three days left before Slovenia adopts the euro, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk and Banka Slovenije Governor Mitja Gaspari said they were optimistic about the changeover. "We are convinced that we have set up the infrastructure and distributed sufficient information to solve problems that are bound to crop up in real time," Bajuk told the press in Ljubljana.
"We're really well prepared for the switch," Bajuk stressed, while Gaspari pointed out that "there was no reason for concern regarding the amount of euro banknotes and coins and about bank operations". According to Gaspari, Slovenia ordered some EUR 2bn in cash, even though only about a billion worth of euros is currently circulated in Slovenia in tolars. He also expects that the majority of tolars will find their way to the vaults of the central bank in the first week after the changeover that begins on 1 January.
Procedures for destroying the returned tolars are already being carried out and should be completed in a few months, the central bank governor revealed. While praising the banks for their level of readiness for the switch, and adding that all tests of software have been positive, Gaspari also said that a backup scenario had been prepared. Should the network of automated teller machines experience problems, banks will open additional branches on 1 and 2 January, while retailers will use slips instead of point-of-sale terminals, he told the press. Source: Slovene press agency
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