by croatiaweek
August 23, 2026
in
Croatian National Bank (Photo: Marija Gasparović/Zagreb Tourist Board)
ZAGREB, 23 August 2026 (Hina) – The Croatian National Bank (HNB) has opened a public consultation on a draft decision that would further tighten the rules governing consumer lending from October this year.
The proposed changes would reduce the amount of lending that banks are allowed to approve outside the central bank’s existing limits on debt-service-to-income (DSTI) and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios.
The HNB said the changes concern permitted exemptions from the maximum DSTI ratio, which limits monthly loan repayments in relation to a consumer’s income, and the maximum LTV ratio, which limits the total amount of a loan in relation to the value of the property used as collateral.
Under the draft decision, from 1 October 2026, banks would face lower quotas for loans that exceed the prescribed lending criteria. The rules would also clarify which loans are included when calculating these quotas.
The HNB said the calculation would continue to be based on the previous quarter, but would explicitly include only loans that are not excluded from the scope of the decision.
Lower quotas for banks
From 1 October, a bank would be allowed to grant, in any quarter, no more than the following proportions of the corresponding loans granted in the previous quarter:
• 10%, down from 20%, of housing consumer loans with a DSTI ratio above 45%;
• 5%, down from 10%, of non-housing consumer loans with a DSTI ratio above 40%;
• 10%, down from 20%, of loans secured by real estate with an LTV ratio above 90%.
The underlying DSTI and LTV limits themselves will remain unchanged.
The requirement that at least 75% of housing loans and real-estate-backed loans granted under the exemption quotas go to consumers using the loan to resolve their housing needs will also remain in place.
The HNB introduced limits on consumer lending criteria on 1 July 2025 as a preventive macroprudential measure. The aim was to address the easing of lending standards and limit the build-up of risks associated with the growing share of higher-risk loans in new bank lending.
Public consultation open until September
The HNB has invited interested parties to submit comments and proposals as part of the public consultation.
The consultation will remain open until 18 September 2026. After it closes, the central bank said it will consider all submissions and publish on its website its response, including whether individual comments and proposals have been accepted or rejected.