Slovak Banking Sector's Profits Up by 21.2% Y-o-Y in 1Q17

Slovak Banking Sector's Profits Up by 21.2% Y-o-Y in 1Q17

Bratislava, May 3 (TASR) – Slovakia’s banking sector posted profits of €165 million in the first quarter of 2017, up by 21.2 percent year-on-year, according to the latest statistics from the central bank (NBS).

The Slovak Banking Association (SBA) in a commentary on Wednesday stated that these developments were mainly driven by reductions in provisions and reserves.

Net interest incomes, which represent 80 percent of income for banks, fell by 3.9 percent y-o-y in 1Q17.

Conversely, net fee and commission incomes increased by 4.4 percent on an annual basis, as did yields from financial operations – by 12 percent.

“The operational incomes remained on the level of last year, while the operational cost increased by 2 percent,” stated the SBA.

The overall operating income of the banking sector fell by 3.3 percent.

“The significantly positive effect on overall profits was due to net provisions and reserves, which were down by €34 million,” stated the SBA.

The overall balance of the sector increased by 6.1 percent, with the overall volume of loans for the public going up by 13.9 percent and those for companies by 7.4 percent. The interest rates for new housing loans were down by 1.88 percent on average, and those for new consumer loans by 9.03 percent. The share of defaults was down to 4.35 percent.