Bank of Estonia: Estonians' savings increased during coronavirus crisis
Household savings totaled €10.3 billion at the end of November - an increase of €1 billion over the year despite the coronavirus crisis, data from the Bank of Estonia shows.
Bank of Estonia economist Taavi Raudsaar believes two main factors contributed to the growth in savings.
"The first is that there is increased uncertainty. Due to the uncertainty about the near future, people have reduced their consumption and started to save more. This is common behavior in most crises," he said.
"The second thing in the current crisis is that some services and goods - for example, travel and entertainment - are difficult or impossible to consume at the moment, which means that people have more of their money leftover."
He said, typically, many Estonians have savings accounts and the size of deposits has grown. "While the total volume of deposits has grown by about 12-13 percent in recent months, the median deposit has grown somewhat faster," said Raudsaar.
The bank's data shows that approximately 78 per cent of Estonian families had savings in October, the same as in previous years. The majority of people - 63 percent - keep their savings in a bank.
Deposits of resident households stood at €9.1 billion in November 2020, up 12.7 percent year-on-year. The volume of deposits belonging to non-residents was €1.262 billion in November, which had decreased by €15 million year-on-year.
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Editor: Helen Wright
