Slovakia: bonds, indices, credit ratings

The bond market in Slovakia includes government securities (government bonds and T-bills), corporate bonds, bank bonds and municipal bonds.

Bonds were first issued in 1990 and issuance has increased steadily ever since. Trading volumes in the secondary market, where all deals are traded on the Bratislava Stock Exchange, have also increased. Until 31 December 2005, the supervision of the financial market in the Slovak Republic was undertaken by two supervisory bodies - the Financial Market Authority (FMA) and the National Bank of Slovakia - while the Ministry of Finance retained regulatory powers. In 2006 the FMA was dissolved and its powers transferred to the National Bank of Slovakia, which cooperates with the Ministry of Finance for the enactment of capital market regulations.