The trends in lending have returned to normal after the small glitch in 2017 caused by the Agrokor crisis, and once again growth in new loans was recorded, showed the latest analysis by the Croatian Banking Association (HUB).
Newly approved loans in 2018 amount to more than 60 billion kuna (€8 billion), said the director of HUB, Zdenko Adrovic.
The loan market is functioning relatively well at the moment, said HUB analyst Velimir Sonje. In the first quarter, the amount of new loans increased by 3.3 percent on the year, with loans to small and medium-sized enterprises growing a little faster than those in the overall market.
He added that a lack of ownership capital was a problem in financing small enterprises, because loans come only when capital exists.
The Funderbeam platform and the Progress listing, projects developed by the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), could prove helpful in the acceleration and improvement of collecting capital for small and medium-sized enterprises, which is a condition for further expansion, Sonje said, adding that the European funds offered opportunities as well.
The best companies in Croatia are already taking out loans at a 2 percent rate, said Adrovic. He added it was necessary to develop an infrastructure for a good regulatory and legislative framework which would help small and medium-sized enterprises with getting enough start-up capital.
The Economy Ministry senior official, Natasa Mikus-Zigman, said the ministry was providing programmes which stimulate small enterprises along with the support they receive from the European funds, adding that some 1,800 subsidies have been granted, amounting to 2.5 billion kuna (€338.5 million).
Some 600 million kuna (€81 million) worth of subsidies have been awarded for the sector of innovations, research and development, for 60 entrepreneurial projects, she said.
The ministry is working on simplifying the procedures for access to the European funds, and in that regard, a system of vouchers will be introduced as a simpler method of applying for funds for some less complex projects, she said.
(€1 = 7.38 kuna)
