BRATISLAVA, August 18, (WEBNOVINY) – Confidence in the corporate segment continues to be low, and this is reflected in demand for new loans. This stems from a report of the Finance Ministry and the central bank on lending possibilities of the Slovak banking sector for the corporate segment. In the first half of this year, a better part of banks reported a year-on-year decline in demand for loans in reaction to lower volume of investment activities. The volume of defaulted loans continued to grow. In the first quarter of this year, it exceeded EUR 1 billion, and the portion of defaulted loans repressed seven percent. In late June, the portion rose to 7.5 percent.
The situation in the corporate sector moderately improved in the second quarter, while the differences among individual sectors remain rather large. An overall slight improvement, stimulated by export-oriented industry, are confirmed not only by confidence indicators regarding expected demand, but also actual increase in sales. In spite of the positive signs, the future development is still uncertain, the material adds.
Positive tendencies in financial situation of enterprises did not translate into a growth in lending, but banks experienced a certain slowdown in the growth pace of defaulted loans. Commercial real estate is a problem of its own, representing a significant risk for financing banks. The persisting uncertainty regarding future development resulted in banks’ preservation of loan standards on a relatively strict level.
SITA
