Slovakia: Net Income From Fees And Commissions In Banking Sector Grows

The income from fees and commissions of the banking sector was increasing its share in the total operating revenues of the banks, according to a report of the finance ministry on the level of the fees in the country. They increased by around 160% for the period 2000 to 2005 while at the same time the net interest income was up by 20%. Revenues from net interest were even down by 6% y/y in 2005 as a result of the low interest rate environment.

The net fees and commissions thus boosted their share in the total income by 9.8 percentage points over the period to 22.7%. The finance ministry report, however, commented that the fees' share was still relatively low since it was as high as 50% in some older EU member states. Ladislav Uncovsky, director of the Association of Banks, stressed that the growth of the revenues from fees and commissions should not be associated with higher prices, charged by banks but rather to a higher volume of services and products sold.