December 2 (SeeNews) - Croatian commercial banks, excluding savings banks, posted a combined pre-tax profit of 5.31 billion kuna ($787 million/714 million euro) in the first nine months of 2019, provisional unaudited central bank data showed.
In comparison, Croatia's banking sector recorded a pre-tax profit of 5.25 billion kuna in the corresponding period of 2018.
A total of 20 banks operated in Croatia at the end of September, down from 23 a year earlier, according to data released by the central bank on Friday.
Only one lender, Croatia Banka, reported a pre-tax loss in January-September, while all other lenders operated profitably.
Zagrebacka Banka (ZABA), part of Italy's UniCredit Group, was the top performer in the first nine months of the year, with a pre-tax profit of 1.5 billion kuna, according to the central bank data. It was followed by Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ), part of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, with a pre-tax profit of 1.4 billion kuna and Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank with 758 million kuna.
ZABA was also Croatia's largest bank in terms of assets at the end of September, followed by PBZ and Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank.
(1 euro = 7.43830 kuna)