Best bank: Privredna banka Zagreb
Croatia’s entry into the euro in January 2023 was a landmark event for the country’s banking sector, which is dominated by banks from elsewhere in the European Union.
AfE 2024
This year Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ), part of Italy’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo, recorded a particularly strong increase in net income, rising by 143% to €472 million. While total revenues increased by 63% to €1.1 billion, the cost-to-income ratio was also exceptionally healthy, falling to just 36%. Return on average equity increased to 16%.
Loans and advances to customers increased by 6.9% despite the high interest-rate environment and partly supported by a new offer for government-subsidised housing loans. Customer deposits rose by 2.6% and its market shares of loans and deposits remained stable at around 20%. The non-performing loan ratio, meanwhile, fell to 3.42%.
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