Releasing the figures on Wednesday, the Kranj-based bank said that the results, which are yet to be audited, trump the targets as well as last year's performance.

The operating profit was 16% above last year's figure, the pre-tax profit 35% higher and the net profit 3% above the comparable figure posted last year.

The improvement is attributed to higher revenue, which the bank said was the product of successful marketing, a substantial growth in international payment transactions and reformed price policy.

All key categories of income were up - net interest revenue rose by 18.6% and net commissions were up by 17% compared with 2016.

The bank's total assets increased by 23.8% to EUR 1.87bn and its market share rose to 4.9% from 4.1%.

Due to increased volume of operations, the capital adequacy ratio dropped by 1.8 percentage points to 16.1%. Deposits, especially by legal persons, increased and the credit portfolio expanded by 19%.

Exposure to non-performing loans in the risk portfolio was reduced by four percentage points to 7.4%.

"Gorenjska Banka closed the 2017 business year profitably and with a stable capital, liquidity and market position," the bank said in a press release.

The bank may soon change ownership after the shareholders of its biggest single owner, Sava gave Serbia's AIK Banka until mid-March to present regulatory approvals to take over Gorenjska Banka.

AIK Banka owner Miodrag Kostić believes he will secure the clearance on time even though the Serbian central bank has withdrawn its approval.