The highest interest on euro deposits is paid by Portugal’s Millennium Bank, but the offer only addresses clients earning above-average income. They have to bring at least EUR4,000 to the bank, with half the amount being invested in a deposit with a three-month maturity and an interest of 6% a year, while the rest goes to investment funds.
Millennium is a small bank, which does not have a strong deposit base, but BCR, the largest bank on the market, has also joined the fight over clients’ euro savings: it seeks to attract clients’ foreign currency savings with an interest of 4% a year if they keep their savings in the bank for two years.
Clients with lower foreign currency savings can choose to keep their money in a classical time deposit. For instance, Greece’s Piraeus Bank pays a 4.8% per year interest on five-month euro deposits, while Alpha Bank and Banca Romaneasca pay interests of 4% a year on euro deposits. The small Cyprus-held Marfin Bank pays 4.25% a year on six-month euro deposits.
The trend pursued by local banks is the opposite of that seen on international markets at a time when the European Central Bank (ECB) has already given the signal for the cheapening of euro resources by cutting its monetary policy interest rate from 1.5% to 1.25% a year.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)