Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting Bandic told reporters that the "situation is alarming and I expect full responsibility for the job they (Zagrebacki Holding) should be doing to be done".

"The situation is alarming and if we don't find a situation the functioning of the city could be brought into question", he said. People in the Holding have brought us to this situation and we need to find quality solutions, he added.

I convened the meeting and pulled people back from their recreation leave because the situation is serious and we have a debt of almost three billion kuna and a surplus of two thousand people who were employed over the past four years in contradiction to criteria, he said.

He added that the largest corruption case in the country, known as Fimi Media was nothing compared to what is suspected to have gone on in the city over the past four years.

He told reporters that they had witnessed how over the past two years he had attempted to organise an independent audit of the Holding but was prevented from doing so and that he was not aware of the situation in Zagrebacki Holding until the auditors went in and now that they have reviewed the books, they have unveiled that there is almost 3 billion kuna in debts and 2,000 people employed according to political favouritism.

"That is a crime and let us now see how it will unfold", he said adding that he would make a statement to the press after the meeting.

Earlier in the day the Standard & Poor's rating agency announced that the city's outlook was negative.

The city has large contingent liabilities due to unsettled payables of Zagrebacki Holding and is exposed to litigation risks through a dispute with the Croatian Ministry of Finance, S&P recalled.

Amongst advantages relating to its rating S&P pointed out that after the recent municipal election in June 2013 the political tensions between the city administration and the city council have broadly eased. The city administration, led by newly re-elected Mayor Bandic, has managed to secure majority support in the council and re-establish control over Zagrebacki Holding.