At its session today, the Council of the Croatian National Bank was informed about current economic, financial and monetary developments in the euro area and Croatia, discussed financial stability and adopted several decisions within its competence.
Amid heightened global geopolitical uncertainty, cyclical vulnerabilities in Croatia continue to strengthen, and the financial system's overall exposure to systemic risks is still assessed as moderately elevated. Consumer optimism, solid real income growth and low unemployment are supporting the growth of domestic demand, housing loan rates are rising significantly, and credit activity remains elevated.
Although the share of non-performing loans in the total stock of household loans is at a historically low level, the quality of non-housing loans granted in recent years, against the backdrop of strong credit growth, is deteriorating more rapidly than in previous years. Moreover, the loans that became non-performing had typically been granted to borrowers with lower incomes and higher debt service-to-income ratios. Corporate loans are also growing strongly, with the bulk of this growth being channelled to enterprises in activities that are relatively vulnerable to fluctuations in the economic cycle.
Credit institutions are still highly capitalised and profitable, but their resilience is gradually declining, as exceptionally high profit distributions in the conditions of strong asset growth reduce the capital ratio. Banks’ risk exposure is also increasing: the maturity mismatch between assets and liabilities is deepening, the exposure to market risk and the concentration of exposures to the government are increasing, while the digitalisation of banking and new ways of financing are strengthening the channels through which systemic risks spill over.
In 2025, by tightening macroprudential policy, the CNB preventively contributed to the resilience of the banking sector and households through its measures. At the end of the year, in response to rising cyclical risks, the countercyclical capital buffer rate was raised from 1.5% to 2%, which is to be applied from the beginning of 2027. The application of the limits on the consumer lending criteria as of 1 July 2025 significantly reduced the share of new loans with an increased ratio of monthly debt service to consumer income (DSTI) and of loan amount to the value of pledged property (LTV), thus achieving the desired reduction in the riskiness of newly-granted loans to households. The CNB continues to monitor the development of systemic risks and the operation of the entire set of macroprudential measures and will adjust them as necessary in order to preserve the stability of the financial system.
The members of the Council adopted decisions on the issue of the commemorative coin “100 Years of the Croatian Radio and Television” and the gold and silver collector coin “Vučedol Culture”.
The 2-euro commemorative coin marks 100 years of the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), a public media institution owned by the Republic of Croatia, which includes radio and television stations. Its beginnings date back to the establishment of Radio Zagreb in 1926; today, HRT is the central national media organisation with significant cultural and social relevance for the Republic of Croatia.
The gold and silver collector coins are issued in the denominations of EUR 100, 25 and 10 and the silver collector coins in the denominations of EUR 6 and 4. The Vučedol culture is regarded as the oldest European civilisation, and Vučedol is one of the most significant Eneolithic sites, forming an important part of the historical heritage of the Republic of Croatia and Europe.