FIVE foreign banks have launched operations in Slovakia since mid-2010, bringing the total number of foreign bank branches operating in the country to 15 at the end of June this year, the TASR newswire reported based on information released by the National Bank of Slovakia. AXA-Bank Europe and BKS Bank were among the newcomers, while Komerční Banka and Fio Savings Cooperative changed their legal status to become branches of foreign banks. The number of employees working for foreign banks increased from 518 in March 2009 to 779 in June 2011.
The number of banks registered as domestic banks decreased by one to 11. The number of employees has been falling in banks that are registered as domestic banks rather than branches of foreign banks. In March 2009 19,796 people were working in domestic banks and the number fell to 17,561 in June 2011. The National Bank of Slovakia, which is not included in these statistics, had 1,070 employees in June 2011.
