THE FRENCH financial group AXA is winding down its banking business in Slovakia to focus on different financial services. In late May AXA and UniCredit Bank Slovakia signed a cooperation agreement, based on which AXA Group will focus exclusively on insurance, pension savings and mutual fund investing, while UniCredit Bank will take up the banking portfolio.
“A trend toward consolidation is visible on all European markets and AXA is primarily an insurance group,” Martin Vogl, CEO of AXA Financial Group for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, said as cited by the SITA newswire. “Therefore, the AXA Group decided to focus on the core business of insurance.”
AXA Bank Europe will end its business in Slovakia. AXA Bank will meet all its obligations toward clients, who can continue to use bank products of UniCredit Bank. Both companies signed a similar cooperation plan in the Czech Republic, according to the AXA Group.
Vogl said the strategy is the best way to continue business activities as efficiently as possible.
While AXA will focus exclusively on insurance services, its bank branch will gradually wind down activities during the second half of 2013 leading to a full cessation of banking activities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
