The Slovak Central Bank (NBS) is sending a signal to commercial banks that the era of cheap loans might come to an end and, therefore, they need to be more cautious in their future provision, financial expert Maroš Ovčiarik said on the talk show of teraz.sk on Thursday.
Ovčiarik spoke in response to seven NBS recommendations concerning the provision of loans that the central bank presented on 7 October. “The volume of loans has seen an enormous growth for a longer time. In August, for instance, it was a year-on-year growth of more than 20 percent,” stressed Ovčiarik, adding that demand for loans in Slovakia is now the highest in the whole Europe. An average interest rate for housing loans in Slovakia is 3.5 percent, which is the second highest figure among Eurozone countries after Cyprus. This, according to Ovčiarik, is due to the prevailing fixed interest rates for determined periods of time. “The majority of Eurozone countries rather see variable rates, when any market fluctuations are automatically translated into the loan interests and client payments,” said the expert, as to why interest rates in Slovakia belong to some of the highest in the Eurozone.
