Banking statistics – commentary

Commentary on the main indicators

The total assets of the Czech banking sector stood at CZK 8,018 billion at the end of December 2020. Loans to residents are the predominant asset item. Their volume reached CZK 5,612 billion. Deposits of residents, which are the most important item among banking sector liabilities, totalled CZK 4,946 billion.

Assets of the banking sector (CZK billions)

Liabilities of the banking sector (CZK billions)

The volume of loans to resident households amounted to CZK 1,862 billion in December 2020. As regards the breakdown of loans to this sector by purpose, loans for house purchase were the largest item (CZK 1,436 billion in December 2020, up by 0.8% month on month). They accounted for 77% of the total volume of loans to households. Consumer credit remained unchanged from November, at CZK 264 billion. The share of non-performing loans started to decline around mid-2013, from 5.3% in May 2013 to 1.5% in October 2020. This trend reversed in November and the share of non-performing loans increased slightly to 1.7% (1.8% in December).

Loans to resident households by purpose (CZK billions) and the share of non-performing loans (%)

Turning to the structure of loans to resident non-financial corporations by original maturity (which totalled CZK 1,123 billion in December 2020, down by 2.5%, or CZK 29 billion month on month), long-term loans have the largest share. The volume of long-term loans amounted to CZK 645 billion in December 2020 (57% of the total volume of loans to the sector). The share of non-performing loans in the total volume of loans to non-financial corporations has also been declining since end-2010. While it stood at 9% in December 2010, it was slightly above 3% from January to September 2020. Its growth rate has picked up over the last three months, to 4.2% in December, which represents an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the previous month.

Loans to resident non-financial corporations by original maturity (CZK billions) and the share of non-performing loans (%)

Notes

• In December 2020, 49 banks and foreign bank branches were active in the Czech Republic (excluding the CNB).