The Slovak Railways (ŽSR) Administration Board on July 30 approved the transfer of its 45% stake in Dopravná banka, worth 360 million Sk ($10 million), to savings bank Slovenská sporiteľňa (SLSP), as the company had not been able to repay its debt on a bill-of-exchange programme organized by SLSP for the ŽSR two years ago.
The board agreed to the transfer of shares at their nominal value. SLSP confirmed that the bank would exchange the mortgage for the Dopravná shares, and has already asked the National Bank of Slovakia for its approval on the transfer of ownership rights. Vladimír Masár, NBS governor, stated he had no objection to the deal.
Dopravná banka reached equity worth 800 million Sk at the end of 1997. Its 1997 balance amounted almost 5 billion Sk ($140 million), and pre-tax profit to 20 million Sk.