Archive of articles - November 1997, page 5

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First Slovak real estate mortgages announced

Buying real estate in Slovakia has suddenly become a more realistic proposition for some Slovak citizens. At a press conference in Bratislava on October 27, the state bank Všeobecná Úverová Banka (VÚB) unveiled a new mortgage loan program, the first of its kind in the country. Not only firms but also members of the general public, the bank announced, will now be eligible for long-term loans at a rate of interest below 20 percent.The new mortgage loan program initiates, at long last, the difficult process of transforming Slovakia's real estate market. But while the ultimate aim of the mortgage program is to make home ownership viable for the country's citizens, only a small percentage of Slovak homeowners will be able to benefit from the current VÚB scheme."Officially we have to say that this mortgage loan program is for everyone," said Ladislav Vaškovič, general director of VÚB's mortgage banking department.

Tom Nicholson 6. nov 1997

1998 state budget hides record deficit figures

Faced with a massive 1998 projected budget deficit, expected by financial analysts to be over 50 billion crowns ($1.5 billion), the Slovak government on October 21 did the next best thing to cutting expenditures - it changed its accounting procedures to conceal the unpleasant truth from the public. The newly-calculated 'fiscal deficit' excludes the costs of debt servicing (estimated to reach 41 billion Sk in 1998), and at 5 billion Sk, has been called "Slovakia's lowest since 1994" by Finance Minister Sergej Kozlík.Not everyone has been taken in by the sleight of hand. Opposition politicians have called the budget deficit forecast "unreal," while even some high-level government officials have admitted that the true figures are alarming. But with national elections approaching, the government has balked at making dramatic changes to either public expenditures or the efficiency of tax collection mechanisms.

Tom Nicholson 6. nov 1997

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