Central Bank of Slovenia publishes bank performance report showing EUR 43.5 billion in deposits and 7.0% loan growth

The Central Bank of Slovenia published its Report on Bank Performance with Commentary, concluding that the banking system continued to perform well amid uncertainties, with the overall risk assessment unchanged and resilience remaining high and stable. The report highlights strong growth in non-banking sector deposits and continued expansion in household lending, while profitability eased compared with last year but stayed above its long-term average. Deposits by the non-banking sector reached EUR 43.5 billion by October, driven by a EUR 1.2 billion increase in household deposits over the first ten months, almost three times the rise in the same period last year; the share of sight deposits increased to 81% as falling deposit rates kept demand for fixed-term savings low. Non-financial corporate deposits declined in the first half of the year before inflows strengthened between July and October. Loans to the non-banking sector grew 7.0% year on year over the first ten months (European average 2.7%), led by higher volumes of new housing and consumer loans, while lending to non-financial corporations strengthened in recent months in certain sectors. Asset quality remained stable, with the NPE ratio rising from 1.0% to 1.2% mainly due to a few firms in basic metals and motor vehicles; the rest of the corporate and household portfolios were broadly unchanged. Pre-tax profit declined as net interest income fell and impairments and provisions increased, though these still accounted for 5% of the disposal of gross income; solvency and liquidity remained sound. The central bank noted that the report is undergoing translation.