Banks are starting to raise interest rates on deposits. HRE Investments’ calculations show that the best deposits and savings accounts allow clients to earn up to 6-6.5% per year, while at the beginning of the year the upper-interest rate was about 3%.

Although the experts noted that increases in interest rates on deposits and bank accounts still do not provide a chance for an effective defense against the effects of inflation but the interest charge is beginning to be noticeable. It results in a new wave of savings flowing to the banks.

The biggest changes can be seen when comparing the average interest rate on annual deposits. According to the data of NBP Narodowy Bank Polski, such deposits in May 2021 had an interest rate of only 0.14%, while currently, the average interest rate on such a deposit is around 3-3.5%. This means that the average interest rate has increased more than twenty times during the year, and this process can still be continued if interest rates in Poland increase.

According to experts, the increase in interest rates on deposits could have been influenced by the persuasion of the government, which had appealed to banks to make such a move. However, in the case of the best deposits, banks set requirements, e.g. only new customers or with new deposits can count on better conditions.

“It happens that the offer is difficult to find because it is not promoted on the bank’s website, and it can be either for a very short period (then less interest is charged) or for several years (which makes the capital freeze for a long time)”, emphasize analysts.

Experts noticed that even a small increase in interest rates on deposits translates into a clear increase in interest in deposits. This is confirmed by NBP data for March, which shows that only that month Poles opened new deposits with a total value of PLN 32.5 billion. Analysts forecast that the May result will be significantly higher.

In the opinion of the authors of the analysis, interest rates on deposits still do not provide a chance to effectively counter the effects of inflation. According to the latest inflation projection prepared by NBP analysts, it will amount to 10.2% in a year’s time.

“It means that today we would have to set up a deposit with an interest rate of 12.6% in order to earn as much on our savings in a year, after deducting capital gains tax, as much as inflation consumes the purchasing power of capital. There are simply no such deposits on the market”, emphasize the experts.

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