According to the periodical survey ‘Situation on the consumer finance market’, compiled quarterly by the Association of Financial Enterprises in Poland (ZPF) and the Institute of Economic Development of the Warsaw School of Economics (IRG SGH), 55.1% of Poles keep their savings in cash and 39.5%, in bank deposits.

“Unfortunately, Polish society has not protected its savings from inflation for many years. This is most likely the result of a relatively low level of economic education and the fact that a large proportion of households put aside rather small amounts. As a result, Poles’ accumulated savings are clearly losing value. This is nothing more than a high ‘inflation tax'”, said SGH economist and co-author of the survey Slawomir Dudek.

More than half (55.1%) of the respondents answered that they keep their savings in cash. Although this percentage dropped by 3.7 % compared to the results of the 2022 survey, this method still retained a clear first choice.

Bank deposits remain the second choice of respondents, with 39.5 % of respondents declaring that they held them (+2.8 % points y/y). In third place are treasury bonds, which have clearly gained in popularity in recent years (8.4%).

This is a result of the introduction of Treasury bond issues, the interest rates of which were linked to inflation. “However, at present, one can again observe a decline in the popularity of anti-inflation bonds in favour of bank deposits”, Dudek noted.

“The situation on the consumer finance market” is a survey that has been carried out since 2006 at quarterly intervals by ZPF and IRG SGH. As part of it, respondents answer a series of questions about the financial situation of households. The result of the survey is the Consumer Finance Market Barometer (BRCF), which is published periodically. It shows the current mood of consumers and makes it possible to predict, among other things, their propensity to take on new debt.

Adrian Andrzejewski