2012-03-23
After a regular deposit decrease in January this year, bank deposits grew by LTL 561.2 million (1.3%) to LTL 43.4 billion. This huge increase was among the biggest in recent years.
The February deposit increase was driven mainly by the growth of LTL 405.2 million (14.0%) to LTL 3.3 billion in general government holdings and a jump of LTL 268.0 million (1.1%) to LTL 25.1 billion in household deposits. The jump by more than a quarter a billion litas in household deposits over one month, excluding the data for atypical December 2011, in 2011 was recorded in June only.
“A very strong growth in household deposits in February reflects recovered confidence in the banking system. It has firmed up further in March because of favourable trends that month. After getting back to normal, the changes in household deposits are likely to be driven by personal well-being, expectations regarding the country’s economy, and the saving needs or possibilities, related to it,” Vitas Vasiliauskas, the Bank of Lithuania’s Board governor said.
In the words of the governor, the continued payouts of insurance compensation to former depositors of AB bankas SNORAS may still have an influence on the household deposit growth in the nearest future. After having paid out the major amount of deposit insurance compensations by early March AB SEB bankas is still expected to payout about a quarter billion of litas.
In February 2012, a slight decrease of 0.5% (LTL 63.1 million) to LTL 13.7 billion was recorded in funds held by private businesses with banks. Deposits of financial institutions went down by 3.6% (LTL 48.8 million) to 1.31 billion.
Compared with February 2011, the total amount of deposits in banks operating in the country contracted by 3.3% (LTL 1.49 billion). The annual growth of deposits, excluding the data for AB bankas SNORAS, was 12.7% (LTL 4.87 billion).
The two-month growth (by 1 March) in bank deposits this year made up LTL 203.1 million (0.5%) only mainly because of a decline of LTL 358.1 million in bank deposits was in January. But it is normal for deposits to go down in the first month after the holiday season. In January 2011, for example, deposits declined even more notably, by LTL 427.5 million.