The figure, taken from the results of an external audit, drew a sigh of relief from the European Union.
After bailing out five euro zone countries over five years of financial turmoil, another aid package, regardless of how small, would have sown doubt about the bloc's insistence it can put the debt crisis behind it.
Even if Slovenia can avert a calamity now, however, it faces a drawn-out crisis as it remakes an economy that has already shrunk 11 percent since 2008.
Banks in Slovenia are saddled with an estimated 7.9 billion euros in bad loans - equivalent to more than a fifth of national output - after the global economic crisis crippled exporters and exposed how far Slovenia had ducked the shock therapy that revived other ex-Communist economies in Europe.
Unveiling the results of an external assessment of how much of the banks' lending has gone sour, central bank governor Bostjan Jazbec said the three biggest Slovenian banks - all wholly or partially state-owned - would need some 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in extra capital from the government.
"In that first group of banks - NLB, NKBM and Abanka - recapitalization is needed in the amount of 3.012 billion euros, effective immediately, after European Commission approves it. As for the remaining five banks, the central bank of slovenia will issue a decision giving them time until the end of June, meaning that by then the owners of the banks will need to assure the capital to cover losses," Slovenia's central bank governor Uros Jazbec said.
It will impose 100-percent losses on junior bondholders to reap some 440 million euros.
The rest may come from gains as the banks transfer assets to a bad bank.
Five smaller banks would be given until June 2014 to raise around 1.1 billion euros from private capital
"The state recapitalisation for those three banks is 3 billion (euros), and we agreed that two thirds of that will be paid in money and one third will be paid in bonds," Slovenian finance minister Uros Cufer said.
"What is important to emphasize is that the cleanup and recapitalisation of the banks alone will not lead to economic growth of Slovenia. But the key thing is, like the minister said, is that the government continues with measures needed to enable the normal functioning of Slovenian economy as soon as possible, and then the banking system will start to bring profits, and not only losses," Jazbec said.
"Methodology used in Slovenia will be mostly used in stress tests used for bank assets in euro zone. Oliver Wyman, who did this in Slovenia, will be in charge of coordinating all stress tests in euro zone, so that the methodology will yield comparable results and there is no reason to doubt about these results, " Jazbec said.
The cost of Slovenia's government borrowing fell close to nine-month lows on Thursday after announcement of the stress test results.
But the state remains in control of around half the economy, through a tangled web of ownership that often goes back to the biggest banks.
Politically-motivated lending was rife, and deleveraging the banks could send further shockwaves through the economy, with unemployment already over 12 percent.
The crisis represents a dramatic fall from grace for Slovenia, an ex-Yugoslav republic of 2 million people that for years was viewed as a haven of stability and economic health.
While the rest of Yugoslavia imploded in war in the 1990s, Slovenia took a fast-track to membership of the EU in 2004 and the euro zone in 2007.
"We had it good for some time, but what has happened to our country that it is shaking now. What would happen to this country?," resident of Ljubljana, Marijana Pregalj, said.
"I don't think we have a bright future, we only think about going abroad, I don't see myself in Slovenia," resident of Ljubljana, Barbara Zabota, said.
The government had already received parliamentary approval to recapitalise the banks by up to 4.7 billion euros.
It now plans to ring-fence around 4 billion in a 'bad bank', leaving healthy banks that would be easier to sell. It needs EU approval to begin the transfer of loans.
The measures will take Slovenia's general government level to 75.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
See more at: http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/europe/20131212/83836-slovenia-says-it-can-save-its-banks-alone-without-becoming-euro-zone39s-lastest-bailout-recipient.html#sthash.fXxFjoTE.dpuf
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