SID increased total assets by EUR 100,000 to EUR 4.1bn in the

January-June period, mostly on account of loans.

$During the

crisis - since 2010 - the role of SID bank in the Slovenian banking system

in terms of total assets has almost tripled,$ Jožef Bradeško, a

member of the SID board, told a press conference in Ljubljana on

Tuesday.

Investment insurance deals amounted to EUR 573m at the end

of June, and the bank expects to catch up with last year's figure (EUR

1.203bn) by the end of the year.

SID collected EUR 3.2m in premiums,

while it paid out EUR 1m in damages in the first six months, which is more

than in the same period last year. But the bank increased provisions, which

amounted to EUR 133.3m at the end of June, Bradeško noted.

He said

the bank's main activity was the financing of technological and development

projects, which was to continue into 2013. Apart from that, it has also

started providing loan guarantees to established exporters.

Also new

is the financing of investment projects of municipalities, while the bank

plans to offer new eco loans to individuals in the future.

Asked

whether SID would be merged into the planned Slovenia Sovereign Holding,

Bradeško said he had no official information on this.

$Putting

all state assets into one place is probably a good idea, but the question

is how to manage it,$ he said, adding that SID had a specific role and

could not be treated like all other state-owned companies.