Serbia invited applications on Friday for a financial adviser to help manage the sale of a majority stake in Komercijalna Banka, the country's second largest lender.

The Deposit Insurance Agency set a deadline of Dec. 26 for international firms to submit their expressions of interest.

With total assets of 380 billion dinars (3.16 billion euros) and a market share of around 13.4 percent, the bank is the second largest in Serbia behind Banca Intesa, part of Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo.

The contract was advertised in the Politika newspaper on behalf of shareholders with a combined 83 percent stake.

The state is the single largest shareholder in Komercijalna Banka with 41.7 percent, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank group, hold 24.4 and 10.1 percent respectively.

Germany's DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft holds 4.6 percent and Swedfund International Aktiebo has 2.3 percent. The rest is held by small shareholders. Read the full story SERBIA seeks adviser for Komercijalna Banka stake sale