Finance Minister Slavko Linic said on Thursday he was not thinking about scrapping a bill that would limit citizens' current account overdrafts to one instead of three monthly salaries, accusing banks of "dirty work" in order to stop the bill.
Speaking to the press, Linic, of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), refuted media reports that he was thinking about scrapping the bill.
"Our job is to try to regulate the relationship between citizens and banks. As you see, the banks are so unhappy that they are trying to challenge and fight against a bill that hasn't even been put to the government. Therefore, everything you are reading about is the result of banks' dirty work."
Linic said this only meant that the Finance Ministry had conceived a good bill and decided to control what the banks did and took from citizens.
"The war they have begun they will have to finish," he said, confident that the banks would lose this war.
Linic said bankers had enough money "and we will see they can't take it from citizens."
He dismissed banks' claims that citizens would not be able to bring their finances in order within one year, as envisaged, and that the reduced overdrafts would reduce consumption and plunge the state deeper into crisis.
"They are evidently fighting for their interests, which means that they take a lot from citizens and which is why the are spreading such stories."
Linic said his ministry would collect plenty of information for the argument with the banks but "not by scaring citizens and spreading untruths through the media," which he said the banks were doing.
Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak told the press his HNS (Croatian People's Party) had not yet discussed the bill. "I think it's quite a risky bill, with lots of shortcomings and lots of advantages. If structured well, perhaps it make some sense. But I think it's quite a risky bill."
