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Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS)

The Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) collects detailed micro-data on the distribution of households’ asset portfolios and financial liabilities and their consumption decisions in all euro area countries. It is the most comprehensive survey on this topic in Europe.

The HFCS is the first survey in Slovakia that allows the analysis of the entire household balance sheet in line with international standards. It also collects related economic and demographic data (e.g. household income, intergenerational transfers, selected categories of consumption and credit constraints, age, education and employment status of the interviewees) that tell about other aspects of households’ financial decisions.

The HFCS project was set up by the European Central Bank in close cooperation with other euro area central banks. The survey has been conducted since 2010 at approximately three-yearly intervals using a harmonised methodology in euro area countries as well as in some other countries of the European Union (Czech Republic, Hungary).

In Slovakia, the HFCS has been conducted in four waves, in 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2021. It is sponsored by the National Bank of Slovakia, with field data collection provided by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic.

Information
for households

  • Interviews for the fifth wave of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) will take place in Slovakia in autumn 2023. The field phase is expected to last until the end of 2023.

    The sampling unit for the survey is the dwelling. The selection of dwellings is made by two-stage random sampling. All regions are included in the selection so that the whole territory of Slovakia is covered. The sample design based on statistical methods ensures that, despite the small number of participating households, the results reflect the financial and consumption patterns of all households in Slovakia. The results of the survey are thus representative both at the country and at the level of individual regions. The survey unit is the household, which is made up of persons usually living in the selected dwelling. Further information on participation in the HFCS is provided in an information leaflet sent to all selected households.

    Households that are selected in the random sample for the HFCS will receive an invitation letter along with an information leaflet. The selected households will then be contacted by an official interviewer of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, which is entrusted by the National Bank of Slovakia to conduct the survey. In case of further questions, please call the regional telephone number of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, indicated in the invitation letter. The HFCS team at the NBS can be contacted by e-mail hfcs@nbs.sk.

    • If your household is selected for the survey, you will receive a letter of invitation signed by the Executive Director of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) and the President of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic.
    • To verify that your household is on the list of those selected for the survey, please call the regional telephone number of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, which is indicated in the invitation letter.
    • The HFCS team at the NBS can be contacted by e-mail hfcs@nbs.sk.
    • For more information about the NBS, please visit www.nbs.sk, and for information about the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, please visit www.statistics.sk.

    We ensure anonymous processing of the responses received from households. The data will be treated as sensitive data (in accordance with Act No. 18/2018 Coll. on the Protection of Personal Data, as well as the European General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR) and will be used exclusively for statistical and research purposes.

    Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS)

    hfcs@nbs.sk

HFCS results

Data and users

  • How to request data

    The NBS provides researchers and academics with access to the anonymised HFCS database for statistical processing and non-commercial empirical research purposes. You can request Slovak data using the following form:

    Request for HFCS data

    The pan-European database can be requested using the European Central Bank’s form:

    Access to the HFCS data

Publications
and analyses