March 29 (SeeNews) - The Croatian central bank on Friday upheld its earlier decision to increase the countercyclical buffer rate to 1.5% as of June 30, 2024, as that level remains appropriate for preserving the banking system's resilience to a possible materialisation of systemic risk or sudden shocks.
As of December 31, 2023, the countercyclical buffer rate to be applied is 1.0%, the central bank said in a press release.
"As bank lending continues to increase and residential real estate prices show visible signs of stabilising at high levels, the domestic financial cycle remains in a mature phase of expansion, which is characterised by an elevated level of accumulated systemic vulnerabilities," the central bank explained.
The countercyclical buffer is a releasable macroprudential instrument used to counter procyclicality in bank lending and mitigate risks to the stability of the financial system.