Signs of resilience in the Estonian economy have emerged with the news that the total amount of overdue property loans has dipped.

According to the central bank, the growth of overdue loans slowed in March, while housing loans in particular proved resilient, where the volume of long overdue loans decreased by almost 11 per cent.

Citing "positive developments", Jana Kask, head of the financial sector policy division of Eesti Pank, struck a cautious note of optimism.

"Next months should also witness more moderate loan growth," she said. "The financing of manufacturing companies has increased faster then the corporate sector average, though loan volume growth remained considerably more modest month-on-month."

"Although the quality of corporate loans and household consumer credit continued to deteriorate slightly in March, no loan segment has manifested loan servicing problems in the scope that might hinder the smooth economic adjustment or create problems in the financial sector."

The Baltic states have felt the ripple effects of the credit crunch, which has struck some of the world's biggest economies in the last year, although the rapid rate of economic growth in recent years means analysts are anticipating a slowdown in the rate of growth.