Thursday, 26 February 2026
Household debt in the Czech Republic continued to grow in 2025, rising by 12 percent year-on-year to CZK 4.05 trillion, marking the fastest increase since 2021. The figures come from the Banking and Non-Banking Client Information Registers operated by CRIF (Czech Credit Bureau).
The expansion was driven primarily by housing-related borrowing. Mortgage and building-savings loans reached CZK 3.37 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a 12.7 percent annual increase. Consumer lending also grew, though at a slower pace, rising by 9.4 percent to CZK 675.9 billion.
Despite the overall increase in borrowing volumes, the number of clients with housing loans continued to decline slightly. According to the Banking Register, the total fell by about 7,800 year-on-year, a drop of less than one percent. Compared with five years ago, the number of housing borrowers is lower by nearly 60,000, even as the total volume of long-term housing debt has expanded by roughly CZK 1.2 trillion over the same period.
The data also point to a gradual rise in credit risk. The volume of non-performing household debt increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year to CZK 35.2 billion. Within this, overdue housing debt—defined as payments more than 90 days past due, reached CZK 4.9 billion, up six percent compared with 2024. The pace of deterioration in housing arrears was roughly double the rate recorded a year earlier.
Non-performing consumer debt exceeded CZK 30 billion after rising by about eight percent year-on-year, although the growth rate slowed compared with the previous year. The sharpest increase in problematic short-term borrowing was recorded among borrowers aged 35 to 44, where the volume of overdue consumer debt climbed by 12 percent to CZK 8.2 billion. This age cohort now accounts for more than one quarter of total non-performing consumer debt, with roughly 43,600 clients in default at the end of the year.
Overall, the 2025 figures suggest that Czech households are taking on more debt, largely linked to the housing market recovery, while credit quality is beginning to show early signs of pressure in selected segments.
Source: CTK
