Albanians are saving 10 billion euros in banks

Bank of Albania

 Because of the uncertain economic situation caused by the pandemic, citizens and businesses are tending to save more and spend or invest less.

Bank of Albania data show that in January deposits reached a record level of 10.2 billion euros, marking an increase of 1.5%, or about 18 billion more compared to December. Compared to the same period a year ago, deposits increased by 10.8%.

The most significant increase was observed in foreign currency deposits, which indicates that it is mainly businesses that are not investing, but also households that receive remittances, which are expected to save, due to the post-pandemic period that has caused uncertainty.

According to the Bank of Albania, in January about 55.2% of savings were in foreign currency, mainly in euros, from 53.6% in the same period a year earlier.

In recent years, the banking supervisory institution has applied a low-interest rate for the lek, which has made unfavorable the closure of savings in local currency in the bank. With the change in monetary policy, interest rates on lek deposits are expected to increase, which could be an impetus for the growth of these deposits.