Slovak regulatory framework

In the Slovak market, the introduction of mortgage bonds in the 1990s can be seen as a precursor to covered bonds. The introduction of mortgage bonds within the framework of mortgage bonds was implemented by Act No 58/96 through its amendment of Act No 21/1992 on banks, effective from 1 March 1996. The so-called hybrid model of mortgage banking made it possible for a universal bank, subject to specific conditions (e.g. increasing of equity, obtaining authorisation from Národná banka Slovenska), to perform mortgage transactions. In Slovakia, mortgage banking was a key element in the introduction and development of the capital market and long-term lending and in enabling banks to obtain long-term funds during the post-1989 period of economic transformation. The first issuance of mortgage bonds in Slovakia took place in 1999.

Once the banking and macroeconomic environment had stabilised, the 1996 legislative framework for mortgage banking proved to be outdated and no longer fit for the purpose of supporting the lending market. Between 2013 and 2017 banks were issuing mortgage bonds only formally; their long-term lending was actually financed with deposits. An EBA/ESRB assessment report on the development and characteristics of covered bonds framework in Member States provided the impetus for a review of mortgage banking, with the result that a reform of Slovakia’s mortgage banking was prepared in 2016 and 2017. Based on the EBA’s 2014 recommendations, a framework for covered bond programmes was introduced by Act No 279/2017 through its amendments to Act No 483/2001 on banks and Act No 7/2005 on bankruptcy and restructuring, effective from 1 January 2018.

The Slovak CBP framework was extended by Act No 454/2021 through its amendment of Act No 483/2001 on banks, effective from 8 July 2022, and by implementation of the EU’s Covered Bond Directive (CBD), which harmonised the European covered bond market

• NBS Decree No 6/2010 of 11 May 2010 laying down the elements of applications for prior approval of Národná banka Slovenska made under Section 28(1) of the Banking Act, in particular:
  • Section 2(2)(h)
  • Section 3(2)(e)
  • Section 5(2)(d)
  • Section 7a(1) to (10)
  • Section 7b(1) and (2)
• NBS Decree No 13/2018 of 6 November 2018 on the covered bond register (Notice No 326/2018 Coll.), as amended by NBS Decree No 5/2023 (Notice No 421/2023 Coll.)
• NBS Decree No 10/2023 of 5 December 2023 on the submission of reports from the covered bond register and the mortgage register for supervisory purposes
• NBS Decree No 5/2024 of 23 September 2024 on the disclosure of information on covered bond programmes