ZAGREB, Nov 1 (Hina) - Bank loans in Croatia amount to 101 billion kuna (EUR13.3 billion) and account for a record-high 55.2 percent of banks' total assets, the highest share in the last four years. Also for the first time, loans for
citizens have exceeded those for companies.
ZAGREB, Nov 1 (Hina) - Bank loans in Croatia amount to 101 billion
kuna (EUR13.3 billion) and account for a record-high 55.2 percent
of banks' total assets, the highest share in the last four years.
Also for the first time, loans for citizens have exceeded those for
companies. #L#
The latter fact is in great part due to the banks' orientation
towards more profitable deals given that interest on loans for
citizens is considerably higher than that on loans granted
companies.
The total assets of 45 Croatian banks at the end of this year's first
half amounted to 182.9 billion kuna (EUR24.1 billion), up five
percent from the same time the year before, according to the latest
Croatian National Bank bulletin on banks.
All types of bank loans grew constantly from the end of 2000 through
June 2003, when they reached 101 billion kuna and accounted for 55.2
percent of total bank assets, the highest in the last for years.
Bank loans at the end of June 2003 were 9.4 percent higher than at
the end of 2002, an increase of 8.7 billion kuna.
Loans for citizens at the end of this June -- 46.7 percent of all
loans -- for the first time exceeded loans for companies, which
account for 42.4 percent of all loans. Compared to the end of last
year, loans for companies dropped by 2.6 percent while those for
citizens increased by 2.2 percent.
Central bank analysts say that is due to the faster growth of loans
for citizens (14.7 percent) than of those for companies (3.1
percent) during this year's first half.
Loans for citizens at the end of June stood at 47.1 billion, about
six billion more than at the end of last year.
Loans for public limited companies dropped by 25.3 percent (957
million kuna), amounting at the end of June to 2.8 billion, while
loans for other companies stood at 40 billion, an increase of 5.9
percent (2.2 billion) from the end of 2002.
In this year's first six months banks generated 1.6 billion kuna in
pre-tax profit, according to the bulletin.
(EUR1 = 7.6 kuna)
(hina) ha