July the 3st, 2022 - Hrvatska Postanska Banka has been pushed forward significantly on the market owing to its organic growth and the excellent business being done, not to mention a new acquisition.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, during the first six months of 2022, Hrvatska Postanska Banka achieved strong growth in terms of the wider HPB Group's assets and the acquisition of Nova Hrvatska Banka (New Croatian Bank), which is now successfully operating. All of the above has significantly strengthened its overall market position.

After a record 2021, a ten digit net profit of 1.066 billion kuna was realised at a consolidated level as a result of income due to acquisition activities and profit creation at the bank's level. A significant increase in property of 7.7 billion kuna indicates a strong step towards the entry of HPB into the top five banks per total assets on the entire Croatian market.

The main factors of the record positive results of the wider Hrvatska Postanska Banka Group in the first six months of 2022, in addition to the effects of acquisition activities, were the profits made from business even in these dire circumstances of growing inflation and the cost of adjusting business for the introduction of the euro in 2023. Hrvatska Postanska Banka successfully annulled the unfavourable effects of the drop in the price of bonds caused by the announcement of a change in monetary policy to restrain inflation and continued to implement the multitude of strategic projects of the HPB Group.

Back on March the 1st, 2022, the Hrvatska Postanska Banka took over Sberbank d.d., now called Nova Hrvatska Banka, which enabled it to stabilise its business, in that it also secured the preservation of its property and the property of its clients.

A significant increase in the Hrvatska Postanska Banka deposit and the stabilisation of Nova Hrvatska Banka's business, after them having taken it over, contributed to a much more favourable liquidity position and the strengthening of the potential to continue the realisation of a planned market share. The complementary and quality credit portfolio of Nova Hrvatska Banka has also further strengthened the stable and growing credit portfolio of HPB in almost all possible segments.

In addition to the record low level of the stake in unchanging loans, the activities of the diversification and increase in the quality of the bank's card products are reflected in the growth of total revenue from 7.7% fees that have mitigated the drop of net interest income of 6.0% (unconsoilidated) provided by a competent environment.

Thanks to cooperation with a strategic partner, Croatian Post (Hrvatska posta), Hrvatska Postanska Banka has continued to increase the availability of its financial services to different segments of clients even in the smallest and most remote rural locations that have a post office available.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

May the 28th, 2022 - Hrvatska postanska banka has celebrated thirty long and successful years of operations with the acquisition of a brand new bank, Nova hrvatska banka (New Croatian bank).

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the celebration of 30 years of Hrvatska postanka banka's operations comes after a record 2021 in which the bank achieved the best net profit in history in the amount of 202 million kuna, asset growth increased to a massive 27.9 billion kuna, and it enjoyed a capital adequacy ratio of 25.7 percent.

“At Hrvatska postanska banka, we have many reasons to celebrate, in addition to achieving the best business results in history, we've got a new member within our group, Nova hrvatska banka, which is now stabilised and operating successfully. After a successful 30 years of doing business, we're continuing to strongly build the development path of the bank, providing significant support to the economic recovery of the country,'' said Marko Badurina, President of the Management Board of HPB.

The recently held celebration was also attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who said that he congratulated Hrvatska postanska banka on everything they had done for the Croatian banking system, especially in terms of the bank's distribution, which is very accessible to Croats today. The Prime Minister emphasised the exceptional readiness of Hrvatska postanska banka to integrate Nova hrvatska banka, along with the approach of the Croatian Government and the Croatian National Bank.

Hrvatska postanska banka was first founded in October 1991 with its headquarters in the City of Zagreb, and throughout a history full of milestones, it has continuously strengthened its market presence. It established its first branch in Split in 2003, when the network began to expand rapidly throughout the country, and its presence in Dalmatia was further strengthened by the successful merger of Jadranska banka back in 2019.

With a strong step towards digitalisation which began back in 2014, Hrvatska postanska banka will soon become a leader in digital trends. It was the first in all of Croatia to introduce access to the e-Citizens (e-Gradjani) platform, biometrics for logging in to mobile banking, enabling online account opening, cash withdrawal at ATMs with mobile phones. Thanks to its own network and a partner network of about 1,000 Croatian Post offices, today it is the most accessible bank in all of Croatia.

Hrvatska postanska banka marked its three decades of work in the Republic of Croatia with specially designed activities and socially responsible projects, and it also realised the video series which deals with financial education entitled ''HPB for financial literacy'', which will continue throughout 2022. Continuing the focus on sustainable business and the well-being of the community and its customers remains one of HPB's priority goals for this year.

For more, check out our business section.

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - Croatian Postal Bank (HPB) generated a net profit of HRK 30 million in the first quarter of 2022, which is about HRK 10.6 million or 25% less than in the corresponding period of 2021, the state-owned bank said in a financial statement on Friday.

The main driver of the net profit achieved was operating profit, which decreased by 59.5%, from HRK 74 million to HRK 30 million.

Operating revenue decreased by about HRK 34 million to HRK 157 million, while operating expenditure jumped by HRK 10 million to HRK 126 million.

Net interest revenue fell by 7.1% from HRK 135 million to HRK 126 million.

Net revenue from commissions was the highest in the past five years, amounting to HRK 43 million, up HRK 1.8 million or 4.2%.

The bank's assets as at 31 March 2022 stood at HRK 28.8 billion, or about HRK 893 million more year-on-year.

The gross credit portfolio increased by HRK 339 million to HRK 16.1 billion, while deposits increased by HRK 1.05 billion to HRK 24.5 billion.

Successful acquisition of Sberbank d.d.

HPB recalled the recent acquisition of Sberbank d.d., and its successful bailout. The bank is now operating within the HPB Group under the name Nova Hrvatska Banka.

At the end of March, Nova Hrvatska Banka had 78,000 clients who are natural persons and 5,000 legal entities, and its assets were valued at HRK 9.6 billion. The bank's capital adequacy ratio is 19.7%, with 5.2% of bad loans. Its net profit in Q1 amounted to HRK 3.2 million. This, however, does not included inherited lawsuits related to loans pegged to the Swiss franc amounting to HRK 9.8 million and possible provisions for court disputes amounting to HRK 20 million.

For more, check out our business section.

ZAGREB, 3 March 2022 - The head of the Croatian Deposit Insurance Agency (HAOD), Marija Hrebac, said on Thursday that the resolution of Sberbank Croatia had prevented a negative scenario, that the bank had been saved and that it is continuing to operate normally. 

Due to a rapid deterioration of liquidity, the European Central Bank announced on Monday that Sberbank Croatia "is failing or likely to fail" and notified the Single Resolution Board (SRB), the central resolution authority within the Banking Union.

The SRB adopted a decision on a two-day moratorium on the operations of Sberbank Croatia, which ended at midnight on Tuesday. A decision on launching its resolution was made before the expiry.

The Single Resolution Board decided with the Croatian National Bank (HNB) as the national resolution authority to start the resolution of Sberbank Zagreb, and the Croatian Postal Bank (HPB) became its new owner.

The HPB said on Wednesday that Sberbank Croatia was about to begin operating under the name Nova Hrvatska Banka (New Croatian Bank).

Hrebac said the crisis was resolved owing to coordinated action between national and European bodies, the role of the state, and the media having conveyed relevant messages to prevent panic.

Sberbank has been saved and is normally continuing with its operations and all its clients are safe, Hrebac said, recalling that if the bank had gone bankrupt, clients with deposits insured under the national deposit insurance scheme of up to €100,000 would have been paid, which would have required around HRK 3.8 billion. In addition to that, the bank also holds deposits amounting to more than 100,000 euros as well as deposits not covered by the deposit insurance scheme, i.e. those by financial institutions.

Asked if Sberbank's liquidation would have meant the loss of around four billion kuna of uninsured deposits, Hrebac said that they would not have been lost and that all clients would have been able to access their money because Sberbank was a good, highly capitalized credit institution.

Those clients would have obtained their deposits through bankruptcy proceedings, she said but noted that such proceedings take time.

Answering a reporter's question, Hrebac said that one could not speak about Sberbank Croatia's nationalization because the decisions were not made by the state.

The HPB paid HRK 71 million for Sberbank Croatia, and the former owners, if they want to, may appeal against the price is too low, and if found to be right, they would be paid the difference from the Single Resolution Fund, she said, underlining again the importance of accession to the Single Resolution Mechanism because it has funds worth more than €55 billion.

Had the bank gone bankrupt, what would have been left for shareholders at the end of the process, after the payment of creditors' claims, she wondered, adding that "no payments have been made to shareholders in any of the bankruptcy proceedings so far."

Sale of Croatia Banka not completed or suspended 

Asked if the process of the sale of Croatia Banka had come to a halt, Hrebac said that it had neither been completed nor suspended, stressing that the bank had in the meantime significantly stabilized its business and was meeting all regulatory demands.

"The process is ongoing," she said, recalling that two binding offers had been submitted for Croatia Banka and noting that the bank was very stable.

Croatia Banka is fully owned by HAOD, which launched its sale in July 2020.

For more, check out our business section.

March the 3rd, 2022 - Following alarming reports of Zagreb and Split residents lining up outside Sberbank branches to withdraw any cash they had in accounts there after harsh sanctions were imposed by most of the world on Russia, the Croatian HPB has taken over and clients can now breathe easy.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian Sberbank clients' money is safe yet again, and business conditions remain unchanged. On Wednesday, March the 2nd, at 12:00, the bank opened its branches for all of its clients and continued its regular operations as part of the HPB Group,'' the statement reads.

"We reacted in an extremely short time and enabled our fellow citizens to freely deposit their funds. At the same time, the acquisition of Sberbank strengthens the Croatian HPB's future position on the market, which is great news for our employees and shareholders alike. As of today, our new clients can continue to use all of their financial services normally, without any restrictions, and as such I'd like to congratulate everyone who did their best to resolve this situation as soon as possible,'' said HPB CEO Marko Badurina.

The Croatian National Bank (CNB/HNB) announced earlier not so long before that that the Single Resolution Committee had made a decision on Tuesday, in co-operation with the Croatian National Bank as the national resolution authority, initiating the resolution process over Sberbank d.d. Zagreb, and the new owner is now the Croatian HPB (Hrvatska postanska banka).

HPB is one of the leading banks in the Republic of Croatia, and back in 2021 it achieved the best result in 30 years of the bank's history and a record net profit of 202 million kuna.

HPB pointed out that this bank is one of the leaders in innovation and digitalisation of the sector, and for many years it has stood out as the most active in the programme of subsidised housing APN loans.

For more, make sure to check out our lifestyle section.

January the 6th, 2022 - Hrvatska postanska banka (HPB) and Hrvatska posta (Croatian post) have come together and signed a framework agreement on strategic partnership, all done with the aim of improving things for their end customers and clients.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, HPB and Croatian Post decided to put their heads together for the benefit of their many customers and clients and as such signed a new Framework Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Outsourcing back on the 31st of December 2021 with the primary aim of improving the level of the customer service they both offer.

The strategic partnership between HPB and Croatian Post and the implementation of the useful ''Bank at the Post Office'' project has as such created the largest business network offering banking services to individuals in the smallest and most remote places across the country, and back in 2020, this project was expanded to provide banking services in this manner to business users as well.

Thanks to this decision on forming a strategic partnership, individuals have now have the possibility to make Croatian kuna payment transactions and contract and use the aforementioned bank's products and services across 1,016 post offices, and services are available to business entities at 987 different locations, scattered across the country.

In this regard, the ''Bank at the Post Office'' project has made banking business accessible to all those across the Republic of Croatia who didn't, at least until now, have the necessary services close to their places of residence and within their local communities, which is also the greatest value of this unique and praiseworthy project.

In this context, the preparation of the Framework Agreement was extremely demanding, given that it is a complex legal and business process that is extensively regulated and subject to strict regulatory provisions, despite all of the red tape, HPB and Croatian Post succeeded.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

December the 30th, 2020 - Both those of us who live in Croatia and those abroad can now make their donations to the Petrinja earthquake victims free of charge thanks to the opening of a special account especially for them.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a special donation account has been opened at Hrvatska postanska banka (HPB) for the payment of donations to the City of Petrinja, and the bank has invited all residents of Croatia who are able to participate in the fundraising campaign for the Petrinja earthquake victims to do precisely that - and free of any additional charges.

The money donated to the Petrinja earthquake victims will go to help to repair the damage caused in the areas within Petrinja and Sisak-Moslavina County affected by the recent devastating earthquake as soon as possible.

Residents of Croatia who have Croatian bank accounts can make their donations free of charge on following IBAN: HR28 23900011500198069 with the accompanying reference number HR68 PNB 7765-oib, and for payments from abroad, people can do so here: SWIFT HPBZHR2X. The specified account is multi-currency, meaning that the donations do not necessarily have to be made in Croatian kuna or in euros.

In order to help those Petrinja earthquake victims whose homes were destroyed in yesterday's natural disaster, and as a means of expressing its social responsibility towards the community in which it operates, Hrvatska postanska banka has donated one million kuna to the City of Petrinja.

For more, follow our live updates. For more on how you can donate money, food and other material/humanitarian aid, click here.

December the 29th, 2020 - Croatian account holders at Hrvatska postanska banka (HPB) will be the ones to be able to enjoy a unique service in Croatian terms, and one which many people, particularly foreigners, find themselves discussing.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, given the fact that it is constantly expanding and improving the offers of its products and services for its numerous different groups of clients, and based on the needs and requirements of residents who do not have the ability to collect foreign checks in the Republic of Croatia, Hrvatska postanska banka has now decided to offer the service of processing foreign checks within its business network.

Hrvatska postanska banka is usually striving to simplify financial operations for Croatian residents who receive their pensions or other benefits through means issued from outside of the Republic of Croatia, and to provide them with an accessible and fast way to pay their funds. As such, Hrvatska postanska banka's brand new service is extremely important in cases when the payers or issuers of foreign checks insist on payment by cheque.

Hrvatska postanska banka accepts bank checks issued in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, all European Union countries except France, Denmark and Great Britain, and it even accepts US Treasury checks from the United States of America, ie those in euros, US, Australian and Canadian dollars, Swiss francs, British pounds, Swedish and Norwegian krone and Japanese yen.

In the processing of foreign checks, Hrvatska postanska banka acts as an intermediary in the business being done between the issuer and the user of the cheque in accordance with all appropriate international standards. All that is needed to cash a foreign check is to have a foreign currency transaction account opened with this bank.

This is a unique service on the Croatian market and is, as previously touched on, often the topic of conversation among foreign residents who tend to come unstuck when faced with having to deal with foreign currencies. The new service can only be realised in Hrvatska postanska banka centres and branches.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of October, 2020, the execution of payment orders which involves the immediate transfer of funds to the payee's account for clients of Hrvatska postanska banka (HPB) is set to become a reality on October the 29th, 2020. On that day, NKSInst, a new HPB payment service for the Republic of Croatia, developed by Fina and approved by the Croatian National Bank, will kick off a new era of development of modern payment service for HPB clients.

The new HPB payment service will be available 24/7, 365 days a year. HPB was among the first banks in Croatia to join a new scheme for instant payments made in Croatian kuna and offer its clients the service of conducting payment transactions in almost real time and continuously available 24/7/365. Transaction speed and constant availability, along with, as always, maximum security, are precisely the main advantages of the new HPB payment system when compared to the execution of standard payments. In order for the order to meet the prerequisites for instant payment, it must be in Croatian kuna, the maximum amount is 100,000 kuna, and the payment/payee must be assigned to a bank that has also joined the instant scheme.

Instant payments are intended for both individuals and businesses, and access to the new HPB payment service is provided through the digital channels mHPB and Internet banking. HPB is also participating in the new payment system as a payee's bank and a payer's bank.

Instant payments allow not only the shortening of the time required for the transactions, but also the possibility of executing it at the moment when it is the most convenient for the service user. It provides the payer with the possibility of the simple fulfillment of that obligation immediately, ie at any time.

In addition to payments made using an IBAN, payment orders will soon be able to be placed according to additional identifiers such as an OIB, a mobile phone number and/or an e-mail address, which the user will pre-register in the system. For these options, users will be able to easily register on mHPB and pay in just a few clicks to a specific mobile phone number from their phonebook or by entering an e-mail or OIB instead of the recipient's IBAN. Orders placed in this way will be able to be executed by both regular and instant payment.

The application of a new innovative instant HPB payment service that enables customers faster and easier financial management is a confirmation of the successful implementation of HPB's digitalisation strategy, further technological progress and dedicated work on the offering of quality to clients that brings new trends in banking and strengthens the bank's overall competitiveness.

The first participants in the NKSInst payment system, apart from HPB, are Partner banka and PBZ, and the Croatian National Bank announced that it supports the development of modern payment services and expects other banks to provide interbank instant payments to their clients throughout 2021.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, August 31, 2018 - The government said on Thursday that, at the closed part of its session, it had provided state guarantees to the Croatian Postal Bank (HPB) for changing insurance instruments for HPB's loans to the Uljanik shipyard from 2015 and 2016, which will make it possible to pay wages in the Uljanik Group.