Come back Italians' interest in deposit accountsan increasingly attractive form of use of savings, given the high returns resulting from the progressive increase in interest ratesand a form of protection against the high cost of living, which swallows up consumption and savings.
4.5 million more savers
Thanks to the return of attractiveness of this instrument, are 4.5 million Italians who have opened a deposit account (restricted or otherwise) in the last twelve months, according to a survey that Facile.it commissioned from the mUp Research and Norstat institutes. Consumers' interest in this tool is also demonstrated by the fact that the online searches of these products are grown by 169% in 2023 compared to the year before.
What is a savings account
“The deposit account is a real investment toolwhich is based on a traditional current account and which allows you to obtain a high income on the sums deposited”, explain the experts at Facile.it, recalling that this instrument has “more limited operations” and does not allow “the classic operations that can be carried out through the traditional current account”.
The deposit account is therefore a real financial product, which has the function of make the sums set aside for savings or surpluses profitable normal operation. Compared to the traditional current account, which fulfills the function of providing the consumer with a tool for managing money, the deposit account is a deposit account limited functionalitybut boasts a higher lender interest rate applied to sums in stock. It can be tied (money temporarily unavailable and higher interest rate) or untied (both deposit and withdrawal possible).
It is also a low-risk activity, since the legislation assigns a high level of protection to savings and also protects savers from possible situations of bank failure even with the deposit guarantee.
The identikit of someone who opens a deposit account
Analyzing the age of those who declared having opened a deposit account in the last year, it emerges that the interest in this type of product was greater in some specific groups: if at a national level the percentage is equal to 10.7 %among 35-44 year olds it rises to 14.6% and it even reaches 16.4%with an age included between 25 and 34 years old.
The investigation reveals that the deposit account it opens mainly online: more than 1 in 2 (60%) did it online, while in 32.5% of cases they went to the branch and only 7.5% of respondents, however, did it through a physical agent/mediator. In almost 7 out of 10 cases it was activated with a credit institution with which there was already an existing relationship.
At a geographical level they are above all the residents of the North West to use this financial product.
Very attractive rates of return
The renewed interest in deposit accounts is based on very attractive returns. According to the simulations of Facile.it, carried out on 21 March 2024, in the case of time deposit accountsthe rates with maturity of the constraint at 60 months they have a gross profitability that can reach 4.75%, percentage which drops to 4.45% in the case of a 36 month bond and to 4.20% for 12 month bonds.
As for the non-restricted deposit accountshowever, the interest rates offered at this time by some banks can even reach 5% for all three deadlines (12, 36 and 60 months).
“The interest rate increases decided by the European Central Bank in the last two years to fight inflation – explain the experts at Facile.it – have contributed to increasing the returns on deposit accounts, making them much more attractive than in the past, but “ if the ECB were to start lowering the indices in the coming months, these could be the last opportunities to benefit from such high profitability”.
