Lockdown favors bank deposits

Bank deposits rose by just under 3 billion euros during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown in March and April, data published on Friday by the Bank of Greece (BoG) have shown.

Deposits by businesses and households rose 1.34 billion euros in March, when restrictions started coming into play as the coronavirus outbreak that began in late February spread. They went up an additional 1.58 billion euros in April, when restrictions were much more stringent and affected the majority of activities across the country.

In contrast, state and general government deposits shrank by 2.30 billion euros in March and another 4.11 billion euros in April, the BoG data showed.