ZAGREB, 4 Jan 2022 - The volume of loans issued in Croatia totaled HRK 237.6 billion at the end of November 2021, which is an increase of 3.7% compared with November 2020, according to data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB).
Total lending by monetary institutions to domestic sectors (except the central government) was HRK 243.4 billion, an increase of HRK 700 million or 0.3% compared with October 2021 and of 4.5% compared with November 2021.
Loans accounted for the majority of lending, reaching HRK 237.6 billion in November 2021. They increased by 0.3% from October 2021 and by HRK 8.5 billion or 3.7% from November 2020.
Broken down by sector, compared with October 2021, corporate loans increased by HRK 400 million, or 0.5%, to HRK 84.8 billion, while household loans rose by HRK 200 million, or 0.2%, to HRK 141.8 billion. A slight rise, of HRK 100 million or 0.5% to HRK 11 billion, was also observed with other financial institutions.
The majority of household loans included housing loans, which increased by HRK 300 million or 0.4% month on month to HRK 67.5 billion, while general-purpose cash loans remained almost unchanged, at HRK 53.3 billion.
Compared with November 2020, corporate loans rose by HRK 600 million or 0.7%, and household loans by HRK 5.7 billion or 4.2%. Loans to other domestic sectors went up by HRK 2.2 billion or 25.1%.
On an annual level, total loans to households slowed down from 4.9% in October to 4.8% in November, reflecting the slowdown in the growth of housing loans, from 11.3% to 10.5%, due to the marked growth of subsidized loans issued in the same period of last year.
The slowdown in household lending on an annual level was partly mitigated by the stagnation of general-purpose cash loans, which decreased in the same month of the previous year, which increased their annual growth rate from 1.6% to 2.0%. On the other hand, corporate loans continued to accelerate on an annual level, from 1.8% to 2.2%, after stagnating earlier in the year.
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
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