"The negotiations have started and we'll make every effort to conclude them as quickly as possible. I can't really promise that we'll reach an agreement this week, but we'll make every effort to do so," he told BNS.
Žiugžda said that he has not yet seen the temporary administrator's report on Ūkio Bankas.
"We imagine that there's a gap (in assets) that has to be bridged with an injection from Indėlių ir Investicijų Draudimas (Deposit and Investment Insurance). From what we heard yesterday, it is between 600 million litas (EUR 174m) and a billion litas. This is perhaps one of the issues we need to look at and negotiate over," he said.
The central bank's board on Monday decided to split Ūkio Bankas into "good" and "bad" parts and authorize its temporary administrator to negotiate with Šiaulių Bankas on a takeover of the "healthy" part.
Ūkio Bankas was Lithuania's sixth-largest bank by assets until the central bank suspended its operations on February 12.
Žiugžda says that there are still many "unanswered questions" and thinks that talks will be difficult.
"We've started the negotiations and we hope that they'll be successful. We'll make every effort to reach a deal with the administrator as quickly as possible. This is just the beginning of a lengthy and difficult process. There are many unanswered questions. We haven't yet seen the report on the valuation of the assets. The talks are going to be difficult, complex," he told reporters on Tuesday.
If the parties managed to conclude their negotiations this week, that would be the "fastest and most efficient" solution for Ukio Bankas' customers, Žiugžda said.
"The structure of the transaction is that the good bank, which would go to us if we manage to reach an agreement, includes all insured deposits and, on the asset side, all healthy assets of the bank, such as healthy loans, good investments, cash and the securities portfolio," he said.
The CEO confirmed that Šiaulių Bankas would need some additional capital for a takeover of Ūkio Bankas, but he did not say how much that would be.
Risks
Šiaulių Bankas, which is controlled by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a group of local investors, is taking risks in taking over a part of the assets and liabilities of the collapsed Ūkio Bankas, says Ingrida Šimonytė, a former finance minister.
"That's not as if Šiaulių Bankas is taking on some big assets. It's also taking on big liabilities in the form of deposits. Everybody understands that as soon as the depositors have access to their funds, they'll be able to react in different ways. Possibly, the money will stay at the bank, which would be the best thing, because the bank would have liquidity and would carry on its business. But the depositors can do whatever they think best for them at that moment. Thus, this also involves risks for the bank that is taking over those assets," she said in an interview with Vz.lt.
The EBRD, Siauliu Bankas' single largest shareholder, has confirmed that it will provide a subordinated loan to the bank to strengthen its capital base. Algirdas Butkus, the chairman of the management board at Šiaulių Bankas, has told BNS that the bank would need additional capital of at least 70 million litas (EUR 20.3m).
