Saving activity slowed down visibly this year as banks offered lower interest rates for deposits and as the consumer appetite recovered slightly.
Savings of both households and companies increased fast during the crisis amid high interest rates offered by banks, and as individual customers were cautious and considered the future prospect of unemployment and of an income decline.
In four years the overall volume of deposits went up by the equivalent of EUR10 billion.
“People will continue to save money out of cautiousness and because of insecurity over their future income. Companies should improve their liquidity in the coming period, but I don’t expect major changes. The rise of corporate deposits will be slow in the coming period, especially given the lack of improvement in the absorption of EU funds, which could have provided the necessary funds for investments,” comments Melania Hancila, chief economist of Volksbank.
Foreign currency savings went up slightly by around EUR20 million last month, while savings in the Romanian currency fell by the equivalent of RON700 million.
In fact, in the past few months customers have noticeably favored foreign currency deposits amid high exchange rate volatility.
Total deposits went up by the equivalent of EUR600 million between May and September, with the volume of foreign currency savings reaching EUR15.2 billion at the end of last month.
Deposits in lei fell by almost RON3 billion during the same period, to RON125 billion, marking a major shift in customer preference.
Customers’ change of focus towards deposits in foreign currency was the result of a fast depreciation of the leu during the summer months, and of bankers continuing to compete with high interest rates for resources in euros and in dollars. At the same time, interest rates on deposits in lei continued to decline to around 5% a year, amid sufficient liquidity on the money market.
Households’ deposits amounted to RON121 billion (EUR28 billion) in September, while companies’ savings were at around RON73 billion. The volume of deposits attracted by banks from customers covers 85% of the volume of loans granted to individuals and companies, of EUR51 billion.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)