ZAGREB, October 1, 2018 - The gross financial assets of Croatian households increased by 2.6% in 2017, their weakest growth in six years and far below the regional average, the Allianz insurance company says in its ninth Global Wealth Report.
Financial assets include money and bank deposits, receivables from insurance companies and pension institutions, securities and other receivables.
Net financial assets, which is the difference between gross financial assets and debt, increased by 3.3%, compared to an average of 9.2% since 2012.
The poorer result was due to a 2.1% decline in securities holdings. On the other hand, household receivables from insurance companies and pension funds recorded a sound growth of nearly 10%. As a result, their share in the financial assets portfolio increased to 26%, more than doubling over the last 10 years.
At the same time, household liabilities rose by 1%, their first increase since 2011. The household debt ratio had continued to fall, reaching 36%, which was slightly above the regional average of eastern EU member states. Currently, it is seven percentage points below its peak in 2010.
With net financial assets of 9,980 euro per capita, Croatia remained in 33rd place on the Allianz list of the wealthiest countries. In the regional ranking, which was topped by the Czech Republic and Slovenia, Croatia remained sixth.
The global ranking was headed by Switzerland. Allianz noted that European countries generally ranked better than in the previous years, mostly due to a stronger euro.
