Statement from the NBS Bank Board’s 7th meeting of 2019

The Bank Board of Národná banka Slovenska today (5 March) held its 7th meeting of 2019, chaired by NBS Governor Jozef Makúch.

The Bank Board approved the audited financial statements of Národná banka Slovenska (NBS) prepared as at 31 December 2018. NBS reported a profit of €172.336 million for 2018 (its profit for 2017 was €127.712 million).

The profit was based mainly on interest income on bonds, which amounted to €152.432 million (the corresponding figure for 2017 was €115.920 million). This income comprised €93.739 million in interest income from securities purchased for monetary policy purposes (€79.349 million in 2017) and €58.693 million in interest income from securities held in NBS’s investment portfolios (€36.571 million in 2017).

Withholding tax paid to the Slovak state budget on income from bonds issued in Slovakia amounted to €28.884 million (€28.460 million in 2017). NBS’s net income from the redistribution of Eurosystem monetary income for 2018 was €96.805 million (€78.928 million in 2017). The bank’s result for 2018 included €13.074 million as its allocation under the interim distribution of the European Central Bank’s profit for 2018 (€10.840 million in 2017) and €3.150 million as its share in the ECB’s net profit for 2017 (in 2017 the share in the 2016 profit was €2.490 million).

The general provision for financial risks made as at 31 December 2018 amounted to €660 million (the provision made as at 31 December 2017 was €630 million). This provision, which the Bank Board reviews each year, is intended to cover exchange rate risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and gold price risk.

Net expenditure on the production of euro banknotes and coins stood at €6.229 million (€2.979 million in 2017). In 2018 the bank commissioned the production of 84.5 million banknotes comprising €5 and €50 denominations, 40.7 million circulation coins, a further 17,300 coin sets containing circulation coins issued in 2018, and six collector coin issues with a total issuing volume of 51,200 coins. Net operating and administrative expenses amounted to €65.644 million (€65.335 million in 2017). Wage and social expenses stood at €47.456 million, operating costs of buildings and equipment at €22.233 million, and fixed asset depreciation at €9.022 million. Operating income amounted to €13.067 million, of which €9.554 million comprised contributions and fees paid by financial market participants subject to NBS supervision. The number of NBS employees averaged 1,097 in 2018 (1,094 in 2017).

Under the Bank Board’s decision of 5 March 2019, and in accordance with Article 39(4) of the Act on Národná banka Slovenska (‘the NBS Act’), NBS’s profit for 2018, amounting to €172.336 million, was set off in full against losses accumulated from previous years. In accordance with Article 39(5) of the NBS Act, the annual financial statements of Národná banka Slovenska, together with the independent auditor’s report and the NBS management report for 2018 will be submitted to the Slovak Parliament.

Martina Vráblik Solčányiová
NBS Spokesperson

National Bank of Slovakia
Communications Section
Imricha Karvasa 1, 813 25 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Tel.: +421-2-5787 2142, +421-2-5865 2142, +421-2-5787 2169, +421-2-5865 2169
Internet: http://www.nbs.sk

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