Accounts and deposits, boom in returns even over 50%
Interest and returns on current accounts e bank deposits even rose over 50% after the tax on extra profits borne by the Italian banking sector. ”Urged” by the moral suasion of politics, banks are starting to return the benefits of monetary policy to customers: starting from August 2023, when the government announced the fiscal intervention on credit institutions, the interest rates applied to current accounts and deposits of businesses and families, in fact, rose faster than in previous months, leaving behind the criticized ”low” levels.
This is what emerges from a report by the Study Center of Unimpresa. In particular, there has been a positive acceleration regarding the remuneration of business current accounts, which went from 0.62% in July to 0.94% in November, with an increase of more than 50%. There was also a significant increase in the remuneration of household deposits with a maturity of more than two years, in relation to which the rate went from 2.08% in July to 2.61% in November, with an increase of over 25%.
According to the association, the raison d’être of the tax law introduced by the executive was precisely the expansion of the rate rangeall to the advantage of the banks, deriving from the blaze in the cost of money, brought about in the space of just 14 months and with 10 consecutive increases, from 0 to 4.5%.
“These are only the first positive effects and we will only make a more complete assessment in a few months. However, it is undeniable that the message has gotten through and the government’s moral suasion has reached its destination. The government also expects that the provision of the tax, an option that seems to be the preferred option by the entire sector, may have benefits on the creditsince the banks will be equipped with greater capital and therefore greater possibility of making loans to customers”, comments the president of Unimpresa, Giovanna Ferrara.
According to the report of Unimpresa study centrewhich developed statistical data of Bank of Italythe remuneration recognized by banks on current accounts and deposits held by families and businesses rose progressively during 2023, but, observing the interest rate curve, a significant acceleration can be observed coinciding with the announcement, dated 7 August, of the tax rule on government-defined extra profits made by the banking sector.
In detail, on family current accounts, there was an increase of 25% between July and November last year with the interest rates went from 0.28% to 0.35%; the rates on household deposits with a maturity of up to 2 years rose by 15.2%, going from 2.82% to 3.25% in the five months under review, while they rose by 25.2%, from 2 .08% to 2.61% for deposits with a maturity of more than 2 years. As regards businesses, there was a jump of 51.6% in the rates applied to current accounts, which went from 0.62% in July to 0.94% in November, while the remuneration on deposits it grew less, going from 2.96% to 3.51%, up 18.6%.
The remuneration of current accounts and bank deposits, notes the Study Center of Unimpresahas traveled at two speeds in the last year, coinciding with the increase in the cost of money decided by European Central Bank, which brought the reference rate, between June 2022 and September 2023, from 0 to 4.5%. As for families, at the end of 2021, the rate on current accounts was 0.03% in line with the previous year, the rate on deposits up to 2 years was 0.73%, down from 0. 83% in 2020, while that on deposits over two years was 1.53%, in line with 1.36% the previous year.
As for businesses, current accounts were remunerated at the end of 2021 at 0.02% (0.03% at the end of 2020), while deposits stood at 0.70% (0.78% at the end of 2020). These five parameters, at the end of 2022, therefore after the first increases Bce (the rate was 2.5%), they reached 0.09%, 1.18%, 1.53%, 0.21% and 1.74% respectively. During 2023, a progressive upward trend was recorded which saw an acceleration starting from August, therefore after the announcement of the extraordinary taxation on extra profits.
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