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Croatia · EU member

Croatian National Bank

HNB · Central bankMeasured

68Activity Indexmethodology →

Employees

733

· whole institution

FY2025

Annual budget

€113.2m

· operating costs · whole institution

FY2025

Supervised entities

36

FY2025

Overview

The Hrvatska narodna banka (Croatian National Bank) is Croatia's central bank and the prudential supervisor of the country's credit institutions, credit unions, and payment and electronic money institutions, operating inside the euro area's Single Supervisory Mechanism. In 2025 it supervised 20 credit institutions holding a record €91.1 billion in assets, issued 109 supervisory measures and recommendations, and raised the countercyclical capital buffer from 1.5% to 2% (applicable from 1 January 2027) in response to strong credit growth. It also runs a distinctive supervision regime over the non-performing-loan servicing market, covering €3.4 billion in serviced NPLs. Everything below is HNB's own data, from its FY2025 annual report.

HNB is an integrated central bank. This figure covers the whole institution, including monetary policy, currency and reserve management functions alongside supervision, and is not directly comparable with standalone supervisory authorities.

Regulated sectors

BanksPayment institutionsE-money institutionsCredit servicers

Leadership

  • Ante ŽigmanGovernor · since 2026
  • Sandra ŠvaljekDeputy Governor

Full board →

Figures as published by Croatian National Bank for FY2025. Source: HNB Godišnje izvješće 2025 (Croatian) (Published 29 May 2026). Data as of 31 December 2025. Supplementary: HNB operating-cost disclosure FY2025.

Organisation (FY2025)

ItemValue
Employees
733
31 December 2025; whole institution — includes monetary policy, cash, Moneterra museum. Not supervision capacity
Operating costs (actual)
€113,225,042.72
Whole institution; FY2024 comparative €110m (same series)
— of which staff costs
€50.23m
— of which administrative
€30.82m
— of which depreciation
€12.83m
— of which banknote / coin production
€18.86m

Supervised entities (end-2025)

ItemValue
Credit institutions
20
19 banks + 1 housing savings bank; 1 EU branch also operated; 270+ EU/EEA institutions notified cross-border service provision (separate scope)
Credit unions
16
Active at year-end; bankruptcy proceedings opened for 1 additional union previously in liquidation
Banking system assets
€91.1 billion
+8.3% y/y; record level

Supervisory activity 2025

ItemValue
Supervisory measures & recommendations
109
Issued to credit institutions from SREP, monitoring, thematic/deep-dive analyses and on-site supervision
SREP coverage
20 of 20
Annual risk assessment of all credit institutions; ICT-risk SREP for 15 banks (>97% of system)
AML/CFT supervision
5 inspections · 14 supervisory measures
HNB participated in 9 cross-border AML colleges; AMLA General Board membership from 2025
ICT incidents reported
14
10 by credit institutions, 4 by payment institutions; all operational in nature, no serious security incidents; DORA first full year

Licensing activity 2025

ItemValue
Licensing requests received
45
85% related to management/supervisory board member approvals

NPL servicing supervision 2025

ItemValue
Off-site inspections
13
Debtor complaints
122
+58% y/y; 13% founded
NPLs sold in 2025
15,690 loans · €103.1m total
NPL portfolio under servicer management
€3.4bn · 221,751 loans
At year-end

Macroprudential 2025

ItemValue
Countercyclical buffer
1.5% → 2%
Decision December 2025, applicable 1 January 2027
Borrower-based measures
In force from 1 July 2025
DSTI ≤45% housing / ≤40% non-housing · LTV ≤90% · maturity caps 30y/10y

Notable 2025

ItemValue
Governor transition
Boris Vujčić departed 31 May 2026 after 14 years to become ECB Vice-President (from 1 June 2026); Ante Žigman appointed 19 June 2026.
NPL servicing supervision
HNB supervises the sale and servicing of non-performing loans — a supervision remit many peers lack — covering €3.4bn in serviced claims.
Countercyclical buffer raised
To 2% (from 1 Jan 2027) amid 13.1% household credit growth.
First full year under DORA
National incident-reporting system (PiXi) implemented; zero serious ICT security incidents reported.
Borrower-based lending limits
In force from 1 July 2025 — measurably reduced the share of high-DSTI and high-LTV new loans within the year.

Key legislation

  • Act on the Croatian National Bank (OG 75/2008)

    Central-bank statute

  • Credit Institutions Act (OG 159/2013, as amended)

    Banking (CRD/CRR)

  • Payment System Act

    PSD2 transposition

  • Act on Credit Institution Recovery and Resolution

    Bank resolution framework

Public registers

Application portals

Recent publications

Data as of 31 December 2025 · Source: www.hnb.hr + ComplyBridge researchActivity Index methodology →

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