SLOVAKIA’s banking sector closed the first quarter of 2009 with after-tax profit of €112.1 million. Compared with the same period a year ago after-tax profit shrank by 29.4 percent, the SITA newswire wrote, citing data from the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS).
In its 2008 analysis of the financial sector, the central bank sees only limited space for banks to increase their profit rate this year.
Stagnation in the lending market will have a negative impact on their earned interest and fees.
Interest margins will stop falling with growing loan risk. Given the pessimistic economic forecasts, the central bank expects that expenses for formation of reserves will increase. Compared with the previous year, banks’ income from foreign exchange operations will shrink as well, says the central bank.
According to preliminary results, Slovakia’s banks closed 2008 with a net profit of €549.3 million, down 4.5 percent y-o-y based on a gross profit which increased by 2.0 percent y-o-y to €708.1 million.
