Total household deposits at commercial banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), at the end of September 2023, amount to 15.57 billion BAM and are higher by 1.35 billion BAM or 9.5 percent compared to September 2022.
Of the total deposits with commercial banks, household deposits have by far the largest share, 51 percent, and therefore represent an important basis for the financing and functioning of banks.
Household deposits have recorded a constant increase since February 2023, which, after the turbulent period from March 2022 to January 2023, is a reliable sign of confidence in the banking sector of BiH.
Observed by maturity, term and savings deposits recorded a drop of 2.3 percent, while demand deposits and transaction accounts of households recorded an increase of 15.3 percent on an annual basis, which indicates that the population prefers a more liquid type of deposit and that they cautiously decide on term savings.
It is to be expected that there will be a change in the coming period in favor of term and savings deposits, because already in the middle of the year, several banks have launched a campaign of higher interest rates, and over 3 percent on term savings, with special benefits such as interest payments in advance, fixed interest rates, stimulating interest rates, etc.
If we look at household deposits by term structure, fixed-term and savings deposits at the end of September 2023 amount to 4.59 billion BAM or 29.5 percent of total household deposits, of which short-term deposits make up 377 million BAM (8.2%), and long-term deposits 4.22 billion BAM (91.8%).
Transaction accounts and demand deposits account for 10.98 billion BAM or 70.5 percent of total household deposits, of which transaction accounts account for 6.89 billion BAM or 62.8 percent, and demand deposits for 4.08 billion BAM or 37.2 percent.
Regarding the currency structure, at the end of September 2023, total household deposits in the domestic currency amount to 8.38 billion BAM, which makes up 53.8 percent of the share, deposits in euros and in BAM with a currency clause linked to the euro currency amount to 6.49 billion BAM or 41.8 percent, and deposits in other foreign currencies 688 million BAM or 4.4 percent of total household deposits.
Observed on an annual basis, household deposits in BAM at the end of September 2023 recorded an increase of 15 percent, and deposits in foreign currencies by 3.6 percent, the Central Bank of BiH announced.
E.Dz.
