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Financial Institution Security in Slovakia: A Regulatory Overview

Slovakia’s financial institutions can rely on a strong compliance framework and advanced tools from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to evaluate, meet, and demonstrate compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

The National Bank of Slovakia

The National Bank of Slovakia, the country’s financial regulator, oversees credit institutions, securities markets, brokers, fund managers, payment services providers, investment firms, pension funds, and insurance companies to protect consumers’ rights. The bank also identifies, monitors, and mitigates systemic risks to the financial system.

Regulations and Guidelines

Financial institutions in Slovakia using AWS services may be subject to various legal and regulatory requirements. For instance:

  • The European Banking Authority’s (EBA) Guidelines on outsourcing arrangements, issued in 2019, apply to EU-regulated credit institutions, investment firms, electronic money institutions, and payment institutions.
    • These guidelines cover areas such as:
      • Audit rights
      • Data security
      • Location of data
      • Sub-outsourcing
      • Contingency plans
      • Exit strategies

Local Regulations

In addition to the EBA Guidelines, local regulations and laws in Slovakia may also apply. For example:

  • The National Bank of Slovakia’s Methodological Instruction No. 6/2004 on the utilization of outsourcing by banks outlines requirements for financial institutions using cloud services.

Compliance with Regulations

As regulations are constantly evolving, AWS is working to help customers proactively respond to new rules and guidelines. The company encourages its financial institution customers to obtain appropriate advice on their compliance with all relevant regulatory and legal requirements.

Financial institutions in Slovakia are permitted to use cloud services provided they comply with applicable laws and regulations. To better understand their compliance needs, these institutions should consider:

  • The purpose of their workload
  • Assess materiality or criticality
  • Review AWS’ Shared Responsibility Model
  • Map responsibilities according to each service used

Resources for Financial Institutions

AWS offers a range of resources to support financial institution customers, including:

  • AWS Compliance Quick Reference Guide
  • Implications of the Code of Conduct for Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe
  • Navigating GDPR Compliance on AWS
  • Using AWS in the Context of Common Privacy and Data Protection Considerations