The Return on Equity (RoE) of the Croatian banking market was 7 percent last year, which was similar to results in previous years.
The total profit of all banks operating in Croatia was some HRK 4 billion, with two major banks -- the Privredna Banka Zagreb and the Zagrebacka Banka -- having earned nearly two thirds of that amount.
There were also no substantial changes in the banking sectors in other countries in the region in 2011 in comparison to previous years. The most profitable banking markets were in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, while Romanian and Bulgarian banks were still affected by the negative impact of the real estate sector's crisis and diminishing trade.
Nova Ljubljanska Banka with 20 percent of problematic loans in its portfolio put Slovenia in the place of the country with the least profitable banking sector in the region, and it had a negative Return on Equity of -11.7 percent due to banks' losses over EUR 200 million.
The banking system in Bosnia and Herzegovina absorbed the losses it had made in 2010 and reached the positive 7 percent RoE in 2011.