OF SLOVAKIA's three largest banks, the highest profit was posted by VÚB, which reported a six-month profit of Sk2.1 billion, which represents a year-on-year growth rate of 13.3 percent. The bank's total assets were Sk260.8 billion at the end of June 2006, Hospodárske noviny wrote.
Slovenská sporiteľňa generated a net profit of Sk1.8 billion on total assets of Sk283.6 billion, according to data published by the SITA news agency.
Tatra banka reported a net profit of Sk1.3 billion, which is up 17.3 percent compared to June 2005. Its total assets were Sk198 billion.
All three banks are owned by foreign banking groups. Slovenská sporiteľňa is a 100 percent subsidiary of the Austrian Erste Bank, while 96.5 percent of VÚB shares are owned by the Italian banking group Intesa and 72.44 percent of Tatra banka shares belong to Raiffeisen Bank.
Overall, the banking sector posted a net profit of Sk8.1 billion in the first six months of this year, according to the data published by the National Bank of Slovakia.
The net profit of banks from fees and commissions was Sk5.6 billion. There are 17 banks and seven branches of foreign banks active in Slovakia.
