Deposits and credit expand
June figures show a considerable growth in the bank balance of households and corporations
Deposits showed a significant increase in the Greek banking system last month, while corporate credit also posted a notable expansion, according to official figures released on Thursday.
Bank of Greece data showed a significant rise in new loans to businesses by 3.1 billion euros on a monthly basis in June, bringing credit expansion back to a double-digit upward rate of 10.3%.
The increase in disbursements from banks, combined with the strengthening of tourism revenues, also boosted business deposits by more than €3 billion in June compared to May, raising the total of deposits held by both businesses and households to €194.8 billion at the end of June.
Since the beginning of the year, household and corporate deposits have increased by €5.1 billion, most of which – close to €4 billion – comes from the increase in bank balances held by businesses: From €45 billion they jumped to €49 billion. Household savings have increased by €1.1 billion, as in end-June they reached €145.8 billion, from €144.7 billion in January.
That significant expansion is a result of the growth of the economy, fueled by the rise of tourism among other things. However, it is also due to a significant extent to the jump in new disbursements from banks to finance new investment projects through the Recovery Fund and other financing programs for businesses.
New disbursements that are traditionally “rushed” at the end of each quarter due to the closure of banks’ balance sheets temporarily inflate the balances of deposits held by businesses in banks, until these funds are used up and spent on new investments. The acceleration of financing in the second quarter of the year was foreseen by the managements of the banks, as the disbursements were significantly short of the signed contracts of the Recovery Fund and are expected to accelerate further in the next two years in order to achieve the absorption of the resources.
This is confirmed by the BoG figures, which show that the net flow of business financing grew from €75.7 billion in May to €78.6 billion in June.
