17.06.2008.

New Voluntary Pension Fund to Begin Operating in the Serbian Market

The National Bank of Serbia has issued operating and fund management license to the Belgrade-based HYPO AD Voluntary Pension Fund Management Company set up by HYPO Alpe-Adria-Bank AD Beograd. Incorporation of the eighth voluntary pension fund in the Serbian market shall provide for strengthened competition and higher-earning investments into voluntary pension funds.

The new voluntary pension fund is staffed by people with notable experience in the provision of financial services. Hypo Alpe Adria has been operating in Serbia since 2002 as a branch of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International AG Klagenfurt incorporated in Austria in 1896. In recent past this Group began opening branches internationally, primarily in Eastern European countries, and in 2006 boasted a body of 1,200,000 clients across 12 countries.

It was the Hypo Alpe-Adria-Leasing d.o.o. Beograd that first entered the Serbian market, and was soon followed by Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d. Beograd which currently employs 800 people in a wide network of branches in most major Serbian cities. In June 2004, the most recently incorporated member of the Group, Hypo Alpe-Adria Securities a.d. Beograd, began its broker-dealer operations.

In view of the obvious interest in investing in voluntary pension funds in Serbia, the NBS expects that other international financial organizations will soon apply and qualify for operation in the Serbian market to foster further development of this socially significant segment of financial market.

Governor`s Office