Albanians cannot save money: Deposits total 11 billion euros record in 2022

Compared to the previous year, savings in the system increased by 5%, reaching $555 billion. These are the lowest growth rates since 2019.

In value, deposits increased by 61 billion dollars to 2022, from 103 billion dollars they were raised to 2021.

Slowing is mainly related to the poor performance of money savings, while growth is driven entirely by currency.

According to the Bank of Albania, cash deposits were almost at the same level as 2021, with a slight contraction of $640m (-0.1%).

This is the worst performance since 2019. Especially during the pandemic year, savings in local currency marked increases, largely influenced by the inability to spend as a result of the restrictions on the movement.

Tendence was positive and in 2021, while in 2022, high prices appear to have affected the ability of families and individuals to save, although in the second half of the year deposit interests were more favourable, due to the tightening monetary policy of the Bank of Albania.

The deadline deposits of individuals in cash dropped 6% to 2022, being the main factor affecting this poor performance. Another reason is the lure of investing in treasury bonds because of high rate growth, which caused savings to shift from deposits to valuable government papers.

By contrast, currency savings have continued with strong growth. The foreign currency deposit stock reached a record 725 billion dollars, increasing significantly by 9.3%.

This performance was influenced by the savings of both businesses and individuals. (The expansion can be even stronger if the exchange rate effect is stripped off, as deposits are reported in cash, while the euro was significantly depreciated at 2022).

As a result of strong growth, by the end of 2022, currency deposits totaled 56.8% of the total at the end of 2022, up 54.6% a year ago. /Monitor. al