(LJUBLJANA) - Slovenia decided on Wednesday to guarantee all private and small business bank savings, the country's finance minister and central bank governor said here in a joint statement.

"The Slovenian government wants to provide the same guarantees as other EU countries, therefore we will introduce unlimited state guarantee for bank deposits (of private individuals and small companies)," Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told journalists late on Wednesday.

He added the measure was "temporary and will last until the end of the crisis."

Slovenia previously guaranteed private bank deposits of up to 22,000 euros (30,000 dollars).

Central bank governor Marko Kranjec said Slovenian banks were in good shape but were being exposed to the current banking turmoil which he said was "a crisis of confidence (in the financial system)."

"Bank data indicate that deposits of citizens in Slovenia are not under threat," Kranjec said.

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