The Internet-based Zuno Bank has no plans to leave the Slovak market or transfer its activities to Tatra Banka, Zuno’s former spokesman Lukáš Tomis told the TASR newswire July 29. He was reacting to reports by the Czech website E15 which said that the Austrian-owned Raiffeisen, the mother bank of both Zuno and Tatra Banka, is debating on what to do with its Zuno arm, a 'virtual' bank with no branches.
E15 referred to statements by head of Raiffeisen's Czech unit Mario Drosc, who had said last week that Zuno's Slovak clients may be transferred to Tatra Banka. Raiffeisen is reportedly considering the measures Zuno caused losses of €95 million through the end of last year.
“In no case are we leaving Slovakia. Zuno is a start-up amidst a dynamic and demanding environment of retail banking,” Tomis said. “We believe that a constant assessment of several options leading to greater efficiency and enhanced performance is absolutely correct, particularly so on an ever-changing banking market."
The Zuno Bank is mulling over several possibilities of interconnecting the bank with fellow members of the Raiffeisen group, thereby rendering Zuno Bank more effective, according to the spokesman. “Having said that, whatever the approach, the Zuno brand continues to be active on the Slovak and Czech markets, and nothing is changing for our clients. Zuno means simple and transparent products at good prices, and this mainstay of our business model remains intact,” Tomiš concluded.
Zuno Bank has been operating in Slovakia for some 30 months and has 180,000 clients.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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