THE SLOVAK banking sector closed the first five months with a taxed profit of €191.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 17.6 percent, the SITA newswire reported on June 30, citing data from the National Bank of Slovakia. The banks’ net interest income grew 6.5 percent to €679.4 million and net income from commissions and fees went up by 7.7 percent to €178.8 million. The sector reported a loss of €7.9 million from foreign exchange operations, while it ended the same period of time last year with a profit of €32.9 million. Net formation of provisions and reserves increased 10.9 percent to €155.5 million. The balance sheet for the banking sector was 2.3 percent better than a year ago and stood at €54.294 billion.
Last year’s profit in the Slovakia’s banking sector declined 50.8 percent on an annual basis to €250.1 million. The central bank attributed this downturn to weaker lending dynamics, deterioration in the quality of their loan portfolios, and a shortfall in foreign exchange revenues due to the introduction of the euro at the beginning of 2009.
