Bratislava - The Slovak government Wednesday agreed to provide unlimited guarantees for bank deposits of individuals and small businesses, officials said.

The proposal, in line with such decision taken by Germany and Austria, requires parliamentary approval.

Slovakia currently protects 90 per cent of deposits up to 600,000 Slovak koruny (27,000 dollars).

Slovak banks contribute 0.2 per cent of new deposits to a compensation fund. The government so far does not propose to increase the payments, according to spokesman Branislav Ondrus.

European Union finance ministers agreed Tuesday in Luxembourg to raise deposit guarantees to at least 50,000 euros (68,000 dollars), but many EU members are set to raise the limit to 100,000 euros.

The Czech government is likely to raise its deposit protection from 25,000 euros to 50,000 euros next week in a move that also requires a nod by parliament. (dpa)