NBS, the Slovakian national bank, has approved the acquisition by the Franco-Belgian banking group DEXIS of a 90% stake in the share capital of PKB - PRVA KOMUNALNA BANKA, the leader in Slovakia for local government and public sector financing. The bank, created by 400 local municipalities, owns assets of 19.6 billion Slovakian crowns and notched up profits of 508.1 million in 1999. The volume of credits granted to clients is 8.4 billion crowns and its own capital is 1.7 billion.