National Bank of Slovakia

What it means

The National Bank of Slovakia is the central bank of the Slovak Republic and part of the Eurosystem. Since the euro was adopted it no longer sets monetary policy on its own but takes part in it within the European Central Bank; it remains the main supervisor of the Slovak financial market.

It supervises banks, insurers, asset management and pension companies, payment institutions, investment firms, financial agents and intermediaries. It grants licences, keeps registers, issues measures and imposes sanctions.

For consumers and companies its role in protecting clients of financial institutions also matters. It accepts complaints about banks, insurers and intermediaries and keeps registers in which anyone can check whether an entity is authorised for its activity.

How it works in practice

Before signing with a financial intermediary, an insurance broker or an investment platform, we recommend checking the NBS register to confirm it is authorised. A missing entry is a serious warning sign.

For businesses wishing to provide payment services, loans, insurance intermediation or crypto-asset services under MiCA, the NBS is the authority that grants authorisation. The procedure is documentation-heavy and requires proof of capital, processes and expertise.

For bookkeeping in foreign currencies, the ECB reference rate published by the NBS is used. Foreign exchange matters such as notification duties and statistical reporting also fall within its remit.

What to watch out for

Beware of fraudsters posing as the NBS or entities it supervises and offering “safe investments” or “account verification”. The NBS never calls clients asking them to move money, and whether a contact is genuine can be checked on its official website.

With a complaint against a financial institution, first use the institution’s own complaints procedure and only then contact the NBS. Supervision addresses systemic shortcomings, not individual compensation, for which the courts or alternative dispute resolution exist.