Slovenia Approves Revised Budget That Will Swell on Bank Aid

Slovenian lawmakers approved revised budget spending for this year that will see the deficit gap almost double as the country seeks to restore the health of its bank industry and avoid outside aid.

Lawmakers in the capital Ljubljana voted 48-36 to approve the plan that will widen the budget gap to 7.9 percent of gross domestic product by year end as measured by European Union standards from 4 percent at the end of last year, according to a live broadcast by TV Slovenija. That would be the highest budget shortfall in the EU this year. The deficit will swell mostly due to a direct capital boost of 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) for banks such as Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. and Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor d.d.