Financial net worth of Croatian households continues to grow for the sixth consecutive quarter

At the end of the third quarter of 2023, the financial assets of the Croatian economy amounted to 435 billion euros, an increase of 21.6 billion euros in that quarter and an increase of 41.7 billion euros over the year. At the same time, the financial liabilities of the Croatian economy amounted to 451 billion euros, having increased by 18 billion euros in the quarter and by 41.7 billion euros over the year, reported the Croatian National Bank (HNB).

In relation to GDP, the financial assets of the Croatian economy at the end of the third quarter of 2023 amounted to 584% of annual GDP, an increase of 10.4 percentage points in that quarter and a decrease of 15.0 percentage points over the year.

At the same time, the financial liabilities of the Croatian economy increased by 4.8 percentage points in the quarter, while they decreased by 17.9 percentage points over the year, reaching a level of 606% of annual GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2023.

This marked the end of the decline in the asset and liability positions of the Croatian economy in relation to GDP, due to strong GDP growth in the recovery process from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the values of these indicators are now at levels typical for the period before the second quarter of 2020.

At the end of the third quarter of 2023, the total financial assets of households amounted to 87 billion euros or 2.4% more than at the end of the previous quarter, while over the year, the financial assets of households increased by 4.4 billion euros or 5.4%. The financial liabilities of households increased to 24 billion euros, which is an increase of 2.8% compared to the end of the previous quarter, while over the year, the financial liabilities of households increased by 1.8 billion euros or 8%.

These developments resulted in an increase in the financial net worth of the household sector to 62.7 billion euros or 2.2% more than at the end of the previous quarter (or 2.6 billion euros or 4.4% more compared to the end of the same quarter of the previous year). Thus, the net worth of the household sector continued its gradual growth that began in the second quarter of 2022, shortly after the end of the accelerated growth period that lasted from the second quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021.

At the end of the third quarter of 2023, the total financial assets of non-financial enterprises amounted to 127 billion euros, which is 3.3% more than at the end of the previous quarter. The financial liabilities of non-financial enterprises amounted to 184 billion euros, an increase of 2.2% compared to the end of the previous quarter. The result of these movements was an increase in the financial net worth of the non-financial enterprise sector to -57 billion euros, which is 0.2% more than at the end of the previous quarter.

As part of the publication of financial account statistics, the Croatian National Bank publicly publishes data on the states of financial assets and liabilities of the entire economy and individual institutional sectors – non-financial corporations, households, general government, and the financial sector, at a specific point in time.

The financial net worth of the economy or any of its parts is calculated as the difference between the state of its financial assets (e.g., loans and deposits, investments in securities and shares) and the state of its financial liabilities (e.g., received loans and deposits, inflows based on issued securities), where total financial liabilities include debt obligations as well as the estimated financial value of capital.