‘Fresh Start’ Scheme Wipes Debts of 10,028 Citizens

Financial agency FINA have confirmed that 15,212 Croatian citizens have applied to have their debts wiped as part of the ‘New Start’ scheme introduced by the government at the start of the year…

The government reached agreement with banks, telecommunications companies, and city councils in 4 major cities to write off debts of the countries poorest citizens. Around 75,000 citizens are said to be eligible for the scheme.

To qualify for the write-off, applicants had to have their accounts blocked for more than 12 months, a household income in the last three months that did not exceed 2,500 kuna (340 euros), or for a single person in 1,250 kuna (170 euros), and have no savings or property. Debts of up to 35,000 kuna (4,800) can be written off under the agreement.

Out of the 15,212 who have applied for the debt write off from 2 February to 12 June, 10,028 have been approved. The most amount of applications were submitted in Zagreb, followed by Split, Bjelovar, Osijek, Rijeka and Slavonski Brod.