HNB: Financial assets of the Croatian economy increased by 25 billion euros last year, and households by 2.1 billion euros

The financial assets of the Croatian economy increased by as much as 25 billion euros last year, while households increased by 2.1 billion euros, according to the latest statistics from the Croatian National Bank (HNB).

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, the financial assets of the Croatian economy amounted to 395 billion euros, which is an increase of 7.3 billion euros on a quarterly basis, and on an annual basis, this represents an increase of 25 billion euros. In addition to assets, economic entities also saw an increase in financial liabilities, which at the end of 2022 amounted to 413 billion euros, having increased by 8.6 billion euros in the quarter and 22.8 billion euros annually.

However, when this asset is put in the context of GDP, the financial assets of the Croatian economy at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 amounted to 586 percent of annual GDP, which is a decrease of 11.1 percentage points in that quarter and a decrease of 49.6 percentage points over the year. At the same time, the financial liabilities of the Croatian economy decreased by 10.1 percentage points in the quarter and by 57.4 percentage points over the year, reaching a level of 612 percent of annual GDP at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022.

– This continues the reduction of the state of assets and liabilities of the Croatian economy in relation to GDP, which began in the second quarter of 2021 due to slower growth in their value compared to the evident growth of quarterly GDP – they explain at HNB.

At the end of the fourth quarter of last year, the total financial assets of households amounted to 81 billion euros, representing an increase of 0.1 percent compared to the third quarter, and in relation to the year, the financial assets of households increased by 2.1 billion euros or 2.6 percent. Like the economy, the financial liabilities of households also increased to 22 billion euros, which is an increase of 0.6 percent compared to the end of the previous quarter, and over the year, the financial liabilities of households increased by 1.1 billion euros or 5.4 percent.

– These developments resulted in a slight decrease in the financial net worth of the household sector to 59 billion euros or 0.1 percent less than at the end of the previous quarter, or 0.9 billion euros or 1.6 percent more compared to the end of the same quarter of the previous year, which means that the net worth of this sector, which had shown a trend of accelerated growth since the second quarter of 2020, stagnated in 2022 – they conclude at HNB.