Total liquid assets (M4) increased by HRK 9.1bn (2.7%) in March, reaching HRK 345.0bn at the end of the month (Table 1). This was a result of the growth in net domestic assets (NDA), due to a noticeable increase in net claims on the central government and placements to other domestic sectors, while net foreign assets (NFA) worked in the opposite direction. The growth in M4 was also aided by the weakening of the kuna given that the kuna exchange rate increased by 2.0% against the euro in March. As regards the NFA structure, foreign exchange interventions, by which the CNB sold foreign currency in the market contributed to a decrease in the CNB's NFA, while at the same time the NFA of credit institutions increased. M4 broken down by component shows that foreign currency deposits grew at the highest monthly rate since 2007. The growth in foreign currency deposits, primarily of households and corporations, was a result of the increased demand for liquid foreign currency assets amid the uncertainty regarding the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Currency outside credit institutions also increased in March, while kuna deposits decreased. On an annual level, the growth of M4 accelerated noticeably to 7.6% (transaction-based), while the annual growth of money (M1) decreased to 17.2% (Figure 1). As a result of the growth in foreign currency deposits quasi-money increased by 1.7% on an annual level (transaction-based) after having registered negative rates of change for three years in a row.

Figure 1 Monetary aggregates annual rates of change based on transactions	Figure 2 Placements annual rates of change based on transactions
	​​​​​​​
Source: CNB.

The increase in net claims on the central government of 10.0% in March is primarily a result of the CNB's purchase of government bonds in the secondary market worth HRK 4.3bn.

Total placements of monetary institutions to domestic sectors (excluding the central government) increased by HRK 2.9bn in March, their annual growth accelerating to 5.6% (transaction-based, Figure 2.). The increase in placements to non-financial corporations accelerated to 4.2% on an annual level, partly aided by the waning of the remaining part of the negative effect of the activation of government guarantees to shipyards. On the other side, the annual growth of placements to households slowed down to 6.1% (Table 2), predominantly due to the slowdown in the annual growth of general-purpose cash loans (9.1%), while the growth of housing loans slowed down only slightly, to 6.6%. The March annual growth in the nominal stock of placements (5.0%) continued to be lower than transaction-based growth, primarily as a consequence of the sale of non-performing corporate placements.

Table 1 Summary consolidated balance sheet of monetary institutions
in billion HRK and %

¹ The sum total of asset items 2.2 do 2.8 of Bulletin Table B1: Consolidated balance sheet of monetary financial institutions.
​​​​​​​² The sum total of liability items 2 to 5 of Bulletin Table B1: Consolidated balance sheet of monetary financial institutions.
Source: CNB.

Table 2 Placements (excluding central government) and main components
in billion HRK and %

¹ In addition to placements to households and corporates, they also include placements to the local government and other financial institutions.
² The transactions show changes that exclude the effects of exchange rate changes, securities price adjustments, reclassification and write-off of placements, including the sale of placements in the amount of their value adjustment.
Source: CNB.

For detailed information on monetary statistics as at March 2020, see:

Central bank (CNB)
Other monetary financial institutions