Croatians put €2 billion into treasury bills in latest investment round

ZAGREB, 16 September 2026 – Croatian citizens invested €2 billion in the latest issue of short-term government Treasury bills, significantly exceeding the government’s original target, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

A total of around 36,700 citizens participated in the first round of the latest issue, purchasing Treasury bills with a maturity of 91 days.

The original targeted nominal value of the issue was €1.75 billion.

Following the second round, in which institutional investors were able to participate, the total nominal value of the issue reached €2.21 billion.

The Treasury bills are due to mature on 17 December 2026.

For citizens who participated in the first round, the annual yield is 2.75%.

The strong level of participation continues a trend in which Croatian households have increasingly used government securities as an alternative to traditional savings products.

Treasury bills are short-term government debt securities. By purchasing them, investors effectively lend money to the state for a defined period in return for a predetermined return.

The latest issue was open to citizens between 7 and 14 September, while institutional investors participated in a separate auction on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Finance scheduled the institutional auction for 15 September, with an initial planned issue of €200 million.

The high level of demand from households means the latest issue attracted substantially more money than originally anticipated.

Government securities have become increasingly visible among Croatian savers since the introduction of citizen-focused Treasury issues.

For households, their appeal has included relatively short maturities and predictable returns, while for the state they provide another source of financing.

The latest figures also provide an indication of the amount of household savings that Croatian citizens are prepared to move into government-backed financial instruments.

The government has continued to use Treasury bills and bonds as part of its public debt management strategy, while encouraging citizens to participate directly in domestic capital markets.

The latest three-month issue will mature just before the end of the year, meaning participating citizens will receive their investment return in December.