Market infrastructure - Slovak Republic
Institutions and organisation
The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSSE - www.bsse.sk)
Established in 1991 by the Ministry of Finance, the BSSE is a joint stock company owned by financial institutions and investment and brokerage companies and has been in operation since 6 April 1993. The activities of the BSSE are based on Act No. 214/1992, amended by Act No. 429/2002 on Stock Exchange. The BSSE operates on a membership principle and investors can trade on the stock exchange through its members. Since the Slovak Stock Exchange (SBCP) ceased to exist on 31 December 2002, the BSSE is the only stock exchange in the Slovak Republic.
CSD - Centralny depozitar cennych papierov SR, a.s. (CSD SR - www.cdcp.sk)
Central Securities Depository (CSD SR) - formerly known as Slovak Securities Centre (SCP) - an independent legal entity established according to the new Act No. 566/2001 on Securities and Investment Services on 19 March 2004. The Bratislava Stock Exchange owns 100% of the CSD.
The CSD:
- Registers all dematerialised securities (stocks, bonds and T-bills) and their holders;
- Registers all issuers of dematerialised securities, including those whose issues are not traded publicly;
- Assigns ISIN codes, according to ISO standards, to new issues on the market;
- Administers the lists of shareholders for paper form registered shares and the register of pledges over securities.
According to the Act on Securities and Investment Service, the CSD operates on a membership principle and also has responsibility over the clearing and settlement of transactions in securities.
Central Bank - National Bank of Slovakia (NBS - www.nbs.sk)
The NBS is independent of the government and is managed by a six-member board headed by the governor. The NBS was established on 1 January 1993 by the Act No. 566/1992 Coll. on the National Bank of Slovakia.
The NBS acts as a supervisory body (plese refer to Regulatory structure below).
The NBS is involved in the common monetary policy determined by the European Central Bank for the whole euro area.
Regulatory structure
The Ministry of Finance (MFSR - www.finance.gov.sk)
The Ministry of Finance is the founder of the CSD. It also issues T-bills and government bonds and is responsible for the legislation for the securities market in the Slovak Republic.
National Bank of Slovakia (NBS - www.nbs.sk)
The activity of the Financial Market Authority was consolidated into the NBS as of 1 January 2006.
The NBS is responsible for the safe functioning of the banking system and banks, supervising the insurance and capital markets and the activities of the stock exchange and the central depository.