Slovakia - Banking SystemsSlovakia Banking Systems
Includes special features of this country’s banking system and rules/laws that might impact U.S. business.
The Slovak banking system is based upon a European model and is governed by the Slovak Banking Act. Under Slovak law, commercial banks may engage in investment banking and brokerage activities, as well as traditional commercial transactions and lending. These activities are subject to licensing and supervision by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), which controls minimum capital, reserve requirements, and bank supervision. Recent adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) No. 1024/2013 will confer the authorization and supervision of over three quarters of the banks located in Slovakia to the ECB.
Foreign banks can establish representative offices or full-fledged branches. Representative offices are limited to offering advice and informing clients of the services of the parent bank. Branches may handle any transactions authorized by the parent bank. Foreign banks must agree to take over the assets and liabilities, effectively guaranteeing the financial health of the branch. Thus far, foreign banks in Slovakia have concentrated on providing international payment services and loans to foreign clients or Slovak companies with extensive export business.
The Inter-Bank Payment System (SIPS) is operated through the National Bank of Slovakia. By law, all banks are obliged to carry out their domestic payment transactions through this center. Security of the Inter-Bank Payment System in Slovakia is based on a high level of data protection during all stages of processing and settlement at National Bank of Slovakia. All participants in the Inter-Bank Payment System Slovakia must have a backup facility for both data transfer and processing.
New European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) No. 260/2012 came into effect on February 1, 2014. This regulation unifies the rules and standards in the payment systems. Single EUR Payments Area (SEPA) removes the boundaries for the execution of cashless payments in the Euro zone. All consumers, businesses and other economic operators within the SEPA will therefore be able to send and receive payments in EUR, whether within a country or between countries, under the same basic conditions, rights and obligations, and no matter in which country they hold a payment account. A direct result of the implementation of the SEPA payment instruments will be the replacement of the currently used domestic payment instruments, in particular for credit transfers and direct debits, with common SEPA payment instruments. SEPA payments will be carried out according to the same rules, the same procedures and in accordance with the same standards in all SEPA countries (Iceland, Norway, the European Union countries, plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco). IBAN and SWIFT Codes will be used uniformly for payments within and across the SEPA countries. Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.
The Slovak banking system is based upon a European model and is governed by the Slovak Banking Act. Under Slovak law, commercial banks may engage in investment banking and brokerage activities, as well as traditional commercial transactions and lending. These activities are subject to licensing and supervision by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), which controls minimum capital, reserve requirements, and bank supervision. Recent adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) No. 1024/2013 will confer the authorization and supervision of over three quarters of the banks located in Slovakia to the ECB.
Foreign banks can establish representative offices or full-fledged branches. Representative offices are limited to offering advice and informing clients of the services of the parent bank. Branches may handle any transactions authorized by the parent bank. Foreign banks must agree to take over the assets and liabilities, effectively guaranteeing the financial health of the branch. Thus far, foreign banks in Slovakia have concentrated on providing international payment services and loans to foreign clients or Slovak companies with extensive export business.
The Inter-Bank Payment System (SIPS) is operated through the National Bank of Slovakia. By law, all banks are obliged to carry out their domestic payment transactions through this center. Security of the Inter-Bank Payment System in Slovakia is based on a high level of data protection during all stages of processing and settlement at National Bank of Slovakia. All participants in the Inter-Bank Payment System Slovakia must have a backup facility for both data transfer and processing.
New European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) No. 260/2012 came into effect on February 1, 2014. This regulation unifies the rules and standards in the payment systems. Single EUR Payments Area (SEPA) removes the boundaries for the execution of cashless payments in the Euro zone. All consumers, businesses and other economic operators within the SEPA will therefore be able to send and receive payments in EUR, whether within a country or between countries, under the same basic conditions, rights and obligations, and no matter in which country they hold a payment account. A direct result of the implementation of the SEPA payment instruments will be the replacement of the currently used domestic payment instruments, in particular for credit transfers and direct debits, with common SEPA payment instruments. SEPA payments will be carried out according to the same rules, the same procedures and in accordance with the same standards in all SEPA countries (Iceland, Norway, the European Union countries, plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco). IBAN and SWIFT Codes will be used uniformly for payments within and across the SEPA countries. Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.