ZAGREB, July 28 (Hina) - The volume of credits granted by commercial banks to the private sector rose by 8.1 percent to 65.8 billion kuna in late May as against the start of 2001, read July's bulletin of the Croatian National Bank
(HNB). The central bank added that the real rise in loans was 11 percent given that loans with currency clauses and foreign currency loans accounted for over 70 percent of the volume of all loans.
ZAGREB, July 28 (Hina) - The volume of credits granted by commercial
banks to the private sector rose by 8.1 percent to 65.8 billion kuna
in late May as against the start of 2001, read July's bulletin of the
Croatian National Bank (HNB). The central bank added that the real
rise in loans was 11 percent given that loans with currency clauses
and foreign currency loans accounted for over 70 percent of the
volume of all loans.#L#
In May, loans given to individual clients rose by 1.4 percent, while
loans endorsed for companies fell by 0.5 percent.
However, credits granted to companies registered an encouraging
increase in the first quarter of this year with the annual increase
of 7.8 percent.
According to the central bank's analysts, commercial banks are
withdrawing means from abroad in order to invest them in Croatia,
and this conversion of foreign currencies into the kuna has led to
the appreciation of the Croatian national currency. In May, the
kuna appreciated to the euro by 3.3. percent.
(hina) ms