Retail deposits in said period grew at a relatively modest annual rate of 4.8% as against 15.9% in the 1999-2008 period, when they quadrupled from EUR 5 billion to 19 billion.
However, compared to other transition countries in the wider region, Croatia had a relatively more developed financial system, notably banking, and in such circumstances, even without the consequences of the crisis, it is quite difficult to achieve two-digit savings growth rates, ZABA analysts say.
In the 2008-11 period, a slower annual retail deposit growth than in Croatia was recorded in Slovakia, Slovenia and Lithuania, and in the developed Germany, Austria and Italy where, because of already very high levels, it is very difficult to achieve savings growth at considerably higher rates. In Latvia and Hungary, retail deposits went down.
Retail deposits in Croatia grew EUR 844 million (3.9%) between the end of August 2011 to the end of August 2012. Deposits in the national currency grew somewhat faster than in foreign currencies after many years.