Some 24,000 businesses had frozen bank accounts in March

At the end of March around 24,000 businesses had their accounts blocked due to debts, with their total debt amounting to 12.8 billion kuna (€1.7 billion), according to a report released by the Financial Agency (Fina) on Monday.

The figure includes more than 8,400 companies and some 15,500 registered tradesmen with unpaid debts.

By area, the largest portion of debt is held by Zagreb-based businesses – 4.3 billion kuna (€582 million), or 37.3 percent of the total debt. They are followed by businesses based in the Split-Dalmatia County, with 1.4 billion kuna of debt or 11.1 percent of the total, and those based in Zagreb County – which surrounds the capital city but does not include it – with 800 million kuna debts, or 6.2 percent of the total debt.

Around 70.8 percent of the entire debt was held by businesses from the top six counties by the amount of debt held by locally-based companies and tradesmen.

The highest average debt per county, was in the city of Zagreb, where companies with frozen accounts owed 894,000 kuna (€121,000) on average, followed by the northern Medjimurje County with 729,000 kuna, and the southern Sibenik-Knin County with an 618,000 kuna average debt.

On the national level, the average debt was 534,000 kuna (€72,260) in March, or 11.4 percent down from the same month the year before.

By industry sector, the largest number of ‘blocked’ businesses was in retail – they collectively had a debt of 2.8 billion kuna, or 21.9 percent of the total amount. They were followed by businesses in the construction sector (2.4 billion kuna or 19.1 percent) and the processing industry with 1.5 billion kuna or 12 percent of debt.

Retail also had the largest number of ‘blocked’ businesses – nearly 5,100; followed by those in construction (3,000) and the processing industry (2,500).

(€1 = 7.39 kuna)

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