The profits of the banking sector in Slovakia fell by almost 64% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to €125 million, which was mainly due to higher volumes of provisions and the special banking levy, the Slovak Banking Association announced. Provisions and reserves were as much as three times higher, as banks were preparing for possible defaults in the near future. The net interest incomes of the sector were down by 4.4% y-o-y, with income from fees paid by clients falling by 1.4%. Loans to the public were up by 7% on the year, while those provided to companies increased by 3.8%.
New housing loans spiked by 44% y-o-y in in the first half of 2020, while new loans for companies were up by 27%. "June even saw the highest number of [monthly] loans in the past five years," stated the SBA.
