“Available data show that consumers are starting to save more and I believe that, even if the real interest rate is sometimes negative, people put caution first,” Cojocaru told reporters.
He said people would continue to set aside money in savings accounts as banks are considered as a safe bet when it comes to saving.
Interest rates in Romania are higher than in other countries and would probably remain at that level throughout 2013 as well, despite a slight reduction expected for leu-denominated rates, the Volksbank official said.
Household savings in lei increased 1.5% year-on-year to 74.9 billion lei (EUR17 billion) in January, but were down 4.2% in real terms, according to central bank data.
On the other hand, corporate savings declined 6.8% (or 12% in real terms) to RON48.4 billion, the data showed.
Household foreign currency savings advanced 17.1% on the year to RON47.8 billion at the end of January, while corporate forex deposits were up 14.7% to RON24.2 million. (EUR1=RON4.394)