Croatian Banking Association says banks are resilient

A conference on financial markets was held in Opatija on Thursday, at which representatives from the Croatian Banking Association touted the positive contribution of the banking sector in Croatia to its economic growth.

The director of the Croatian Banking Association Tamara Perko noted that the Croatian banking sector is stable and contributes significantly to economic growth through investments, credit activity and employee salaries. She also pointed out that up to ten percent of corporate income tax in Croatia comes from banks.

"The banking sector in Croatia has proven to be resilient. We have gone through all the crises without any tangible effect on our clients. All of our major projects, such as the introduction of the euro and Covid-19, we are doing these things so that market disruptions are not visible. So the banking sector is resilient, stable and continuously contributes to economic growth," Perko said.

For his part National Bank Governor Boris Vujčić said that in spite of growing uncertainty, numerous crises and weak growth in the Eurozone, Croatia is seeing significantly higher GDP growth: "Growth in Croatia is significantly above the pre-pandemic trend, we are one of the fastest growing EU member states and we predict that this will continue. Following last year's 3.9% GDP growth, we expect to have growth of 3.3% this year and 2.9% next year."

However, some would argue that it has been the massive influx of cheap foreign labour that has been the driving force behind economic gains. A conference titled "Migration, the Labor Market and Integration" was held in Zagreb on Thursday at which the Croatian Employers’ Association extolled the benefits of having access to foreign labour.

"The arrival of foreign labor in the case of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, is something that I view very positively. Without these people who came to work here, we would not have the opportunity to have the kind of growth that we have today," said the co-owner of the Textile Care Services Company and the Vice President of the Croatian Employers' Association for Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurs, Sadmir Hošić.

Naturalized entrepreneur Wafa Kharroubi noted however, that basic language skills are a priority: "We really need to explain their rights and obligations, in particular I think they need to know the language. It's very important to know the Croatian language because the Croatian language is key to doing business in Croatia."

According to the latest survey more than fifty percent of foreign workers in Croatia want to stay here until they retire, citing quality of life as the primary reason. The survey also shows that their primary reason for coming to Croatia was economic. This runs contrary to the political and media narrative sold to citizens throughout the crisis of the mass influx of illegal migrants that they were fleeing war zones and oppression in their home countries.

Source: HRT