THE ANTIMONOPOLY Office has launched an investigation of Slovak banks which allegedly set up a cartel agreement covering bank charges and mortgage interest rates, the Sme daily reported. Representatives of the office would neither comment on the investigation nor specify when they believe the agreement was struck.
The first person to suggest that a possible cartel agreement existed was Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš. He asked the banks to provide documents to his ministry containing information about their activities.
Banks have been criticised for high charges and inappropriate income for years. During the first six months of 2011 the net profit of the banking sector reached €431 million, while profit from charges and provisions grew to €227 million.