Foreign currency deposits reached EUR16.5 billion at the end of February, while savings in lei fell towards RON123 billion (EUR28 billion), according to data from Romanian central bank BNR.
“The transfer of deposits in lei into foreign currency has remained the dominant trend on the market. But although this trend has been obvious in the past ten months, February figures point to a slower rise of foreign currency deposits,” comments Catalina Molnar, chief economist of UniCredit Tiriac.
The volume of foreign currency deposits rose by around EUR100 million in February, a much slower rise than in the preceding period.
This compares with an average rise of EUR300 million per month of foreign currency savings between September 2012 and January 2013.
Savings in foreign currency have bucked the trend in the past year, while in previous years the preference for lei was obvious.
Leu deposits rose 25% during the crisis years, while the rise of foreign currency deposits was half as much.
The trend favoring foreign currency deepened last summer amid exchange rate volatility, but continued in the past few months as well (when the leu appreciated), with some clients considering this a good time to invest in the euro at low costs.
Even though in February clients’ preference for foreign currency diminished, the rising trend of foreign currency deposits could continue in the coming period amid the return of forex market volatility.
The euro has now returned close to its beginning-of-the-year level as the Cypriot crisis spooked foreign investors in government bonds – the main buyers of lei on the market in the past few months.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)