Analysis of the impact of the pandemic COVID-19 on the operations of banks in the Republic of Croatia : review of Erste Bank d.d.

Poslovno okruženje karakterizira visoka dinamika, informacijska nesigurnost i nepredvidivost događaja i rezultata njihovog djelovanja. Hrvatske su banke u 2020. godini imale neto gubitak od 2,7 milijardi HRK, što je pad od 53,1 posto u odnosu na dobit u 2019. godini. Stoga se može zaključiti kako je pandemija COVID-19 negativno utjecala na bankarski sektor u Hrvatskoj. Pandemija je uzrokovala značajno povećanje rizika od nevraćanja kredita pa su kreditne institucije povećale rezerve za očekivane gubitke zbog pandemije. Ključni pokazatelji profitabilnosti su bili u padu tijekom krize, pri čemu se povrat na imovinu smanjio s 1,4% na 0,6%, a povrat na kapital s 9,8% na 4,4%. Kriza nije zaobišla ni Erste&Steiermärkische banku. Tijekom pandemijskog razdoblja banka je uspjela održati stabilnost poslovanja i pružiti odgovarajuću podršku klijentima tijekom izazovnog vremena pandemije. Prepoznajući objektivno stanje, menadžment banke je dao velik doprinos kako bi klijenti, građani i tvrtke što manje bili pogođeni trenutnom situacijom, te kako bi se održao kontinuitet njihovog poslovanja.The business environment is characterized by high dynamics, information uncertainty and unpredictability of events and the results of their actions. In 2020, Croatian banks had a net loss of HRK 2.7 billion, which is a 53.1 percent drop compared to the profit in 2019 Therefore, it can be concluded that COVID-19 pandemics has had a negative impact on the banking sector in Croatia. COVID-19 caused a significant increase in the risk of loan non-payment. Credit institutions have increased reserves for expected losses due to the pandemic. Key profitability indicators were in decline during the crisis, with return on assets decreasing from 1.4% to 0.6% and return on equity from 9.8% to 4.4%. The crisis did not bypass Erste&Steiermärkische Bank either. During the pandemic period, the bank managed to maintain business stability and provide adequate support to clients during the challenging time of the pandemic. Recognizing the objective situation, the bank's management made a great contribution so that clients, citizens and companies were as little affected by the current situation as possible, and to maintain the continuity of their business