Family bank despots at €189Bn in July

Portuguese families have never had so much money in deposit accounts – €189Bn in June this year.

Deposits increased by €2.3Bn in June, up 7.2% like-for-like on the previous month and the highest since May 2021 according to data from the Bank of Portugal.

The increase is divided between demand deposits (€1.1Bn) and fixed-term deposits (€1.2Bn).

Last year saw capital flight from deposits to government savings bonds which had been offering better rates of return.

The allocation of savings to traditional bank savings products has not only recovered but accelerated in the month when people began to receive their holiday allowance.

“Due to this increase in deposits from individuals, the respective annual rate of change accelerated again, standing at 7.2%, 0.5% more than in June. We would have to go back to May 2021 to observe a higher annual rate of change,” says Banco de Portugal.

In the case of companies, the stock of deposits in Portuguese banks at the end of July totalled €63.7Bn, €2.1Bn less than in June. Compared to the same month, these deposits decreased by 0.5%. The annual rate of change therefore returned to negative values, after two months of positive values.