At the end of February, the number of Croatians with frozen bank accounts was around 324,700, with their collective debt amounting to more than 43.1 billion kuna (€5.8 billion). In addition, some 24,000 businesses had their accounts frozen as well, owing a total of 13.6 billion, according to data released on Tuesday.

Compared to January, the number dropped slightly, by 0.1 percent. However, their debt has grown by 170 million kuna, or 0.4 percent. Year-on-year, the number dropped by about 1.1 percent, while the debt has grown by 1.48 billion kuna, or around 3.6 percent.

According to data, the largest portion of citizens – nearly 160,000, are in debt to telecoms for unpaid bills. Almost half of the total debt, or 21.5 billion kuna, is owed to financial institutions, Financial Agency (Fina) said.

In terms of businesses, the number of “blocked” companies dropped significantly, 17.3 percent year-on-year, and their debt fell by 17.5 percent, or 2.89 billion kuna.

(€1 = 7.43 Croatian kuna)