Slovenian banks posted a cumulative profit before tax of EUR 540 million for 2022, down 4% on the year before. Net revenue increased, but there were more provisions and write-downs, central bank data show.

In 2021 banks released provisions and write-downs to the tune of nearly EUR 74 million; last year, in a reversal of the trend, they had to set aside provisions and carry out write-downs amounting to almost EUR 17 million.

Gross revenue rose by 9% on the back of a 20% increase in interest revenue. Non-interest revenue was down just over 2% due to a slowdown in autumn.

Total assets grew through the first half of the year but then declined sharply in the second half. By the end of the year they contracted by almost 5% to EUR 50.6 billion.

Corporate lending remained robust despite rising interest rates. Loans to the non-banking sector rose by EUR 2.5 billion in a year compared to EUR 1.5 billion the year before, whereas loans to non-financial companies increased by EUR 1.2 billion, twice as much as in 2021.

Household lending remained fairly robust as well with the volume of loans increasing by EUR 900 million in a year, 60% more than in the year before. Mortgage lending however slowed, having grown by under 10%.

Deposits continued to increase as well with the volume of non-bank deposits rising by 6.9%, which the central bank says is above the average in the eurozone, despite interest on deposits being among the lowest in the eurozone.