The central bank said foreign owners of Slovak banks will need to apply a more conservative dividend policy to meet rising capital demands.

It reiterated it was ready to increase the countercyclical buffer rate for banks if needed, even as soon as taking a decision in July, to get ahead of strong growth in lending to households that is maintaining a double-digit pace.

Slovakia's banks, including CSOB , Postova Banka, Slovenska Sporitelna, Tatra Banka and VUB, are largely foreign-owned and have avoided troubles seen by other banks in Europe in the decade since the global financial crisis.

(Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova, writing by Jason Hovet)