CORRUPTION

Miloš Skořepa, a key suspect in the case concerning 500 million Kč ($23 million) that went missing from the state bailout agency, has probably fled abroad, the news Web site Aktualne.cz reported Feb. 9, citing unnamed sources. The missing money ended up in Skořepa’s bank account, police say. Skořepa disappeared when police brought charges against others involved in the case.

The consumer price index — the “consumer basket” used to calculate inflation — will change this year, the Czech Statistical Office announced Feb. 7. The new basket will calculate higher shares for housing, energy, telecommunications and transportation. Shares for food and household appliances will fall. Analysts say the new measurement will correspond better to the current behavior of consumers. The measure was last adjusted in 1999.

Insurers collected nearly 120 billion Kč in premiums in 2006, a modest 3.8 increase on the year before, the Czech Insurers’ Association announced on its Web site Feb. 7. The market has been tempered by falling insurance prices, which have come about due to increased competition and market saturation. The launch of pension reform could boost the market, the association said.

Banks will open hundreds of more branches in the Czech Republic in 2007, led by Komerční banka and Volksbank, the daily Hospodářské noviny reported Feb. 8. The Czech Republic still has fewer bank branches than other European Union countries. There is currently one bank branch for every 5,500 people.

Client deposits into banks grew 8.5 percent in 2006 from the year before, according to data from the Czech National Bank. People deposited more than 1 trillion Kč. Analysts said the growth corresponds to overall economic growth and wage increases. About 8 percent of Czechs do not have bank accounts.

The number of loans grew nearly 30 percent last year, and mortgage loans topped 100 billion Kč, the Regional Development Ministry announced Jan. 31. Czechs took out only 72 billion Kč in mortgages in 2005. Analysts say they expect the number of mortgages to increase another 20 percent this year. The greatest numbers of mortgages were issued in Prague and Brno.