Working Papers

Working Paper 171
Households’ Foreign Currency Borrowing in Central and Eastern Europe

Jarko Fidrmuc, Mariya Hake, Helmut Stix

September 1, 2011

 

The opinions are strictly those of the authors and in no way commit the OeNB.


Editorial

Foreign currency loans represent an important feature of recent financial developments in CEECs. This might pose a serious challenge for macroeconomic stability. Against

this background, the authors study the determinants of foreign currency loans of households, using data on the behavior of households in nine CEECs. Their results reveal that foreign currency loans are driven by households’ lack of trust in the stability of the local currency and in domestic financial institutions. Moreover, special factors including remittances and expectations of euro adoption play an important role in selected regions. The financial crisis reduced foreign currency borrowing, but there

is some indication this effect might be only temporary.



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