An increase in wages higher than inflation enables an increase in savings in Croatia, it was said at a round table on the occasion of World Savings Day, which was organized by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK).

World Savings Day is observed on 31 October, and it marks the first International Savings Bank Congress held in Milan in 1924.

The director of the Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability Department at the Croatian National Bank, Maja Bukovac, said households hold the largest part of their financial assets in the form of bank deposits, while this year citizens made significant investments in government bonds, owing to the subscription of national bonds in the first half of this year.

According to data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB), at the end of the second quarter of this year, the total financial assets of households amounted to €86 billion or 2.3% more than at the end of the previous quarter, and by €4.9 billion or 6% more compared to end of the same period last year. At the end of August this year, total household deposits amounted to €37.6 billion, according to data from the central bank.

Bukovac pointed out that this year wages in Croatia had grown not only in nominal but also in real terms, that is, faster than inflation, which also enables an increase in citizens’ savings.

Average per capita bank deposit in Croatia €9,714

HGK Chief Economist Goran Saravanja underscored that seven counties of the Adriatic region accounted for 42% of total savings, while the City of Zagreb, as the centre of economic activity in Croatia, accounted for 28.4%, with household deposits totalling €10.6 billion at the end of August this year.

Citizens’ savings in Adriatic Croatia wereВ primarily generated by tourism.

According to data at the end of August of 2023, the average per capita bank deposit was €9,714.