Italians continue to be a nation of savers: when it comes to money management, the most widespread habit is to leave one’s resources in the current account, even if maintaining a bank account costs more and more.
According to Bank of Italy data processed by Adusbef, as of May 31, 2026, Italian families had approximately 1,163 billion euros deposited in their accounts. Ten years earlier they were around 906 billion. In the same period, overall inflation was 23.6%.
The cost of a bank account
In the same period, however, the average cost of managing a traditional bank account increased by 23%, going from 82.2 to 101.1 euros per year. And also considering the stamp duty, the average expense reaches 117.6 euros.
What happens to the money stopped in the current account
But beyond the management costs, it should be remembered that leaving the money sitting in the current account involves two other critical issues.
The first concerns the loss of purchasing power due to inflation: in other words, year after year your money is worth less and less because in the meantime prices increase.
The second critical issue is related to the fact that the money held in the account does not grow: investing in certain financial instruments would instead allow you to protect your capital or even obtain a profit.
Cost of banking operations
But let’s go back to the costs of managing the current account: the ones that weigh the most are the commissions linked to the operations carried out by the account holder, such as bank transfers, payments and withdrawals which have increased by 34.2%, going from an average of 26.6 euros to 35.7 euros per year. Even more significant was the increase in expenses for provisions, which grew by 62.6%.
Fixed costs have also increased, which mainly include fees and payment cards. In this case it went from 55.6 to 65.4 euros, with a growth of 17.6%.
Online account, lowest cost
After having carried out a survey of the sector, the Bank of Italy highlights that an online current account costs on average 30.6 euros per year, practically less than a third compared to the 101.1 euros of a traditional bank account.
Considering traditional, online and postal bank accounts overall, the weighted average expenditure drops to 85.3 euros. Compared to the previous year, there was a decrease of 2.5 euros, also due to the greater diffusion of accounts managed online. Stamp duty is always excluded (average amount around 16.5 euros).
Thus observes the President of Adusbef, Antonio Tanza:
The growth of Italians’ bank deposits is a signal that reflects the desire of families to protect themselves in a context of persistent economic uncertainty.
We must not automatically associate saving with greater widespread well-being, because saving can also be interpreted as a renunciation of consumption or as an attitude of prudence towards future unknowns.
Adusbef asks that the banking system valorise the savings of account holders through transparent conditions and adequate remuneration.
The Regions where you save the most
Lombardy is in first place in terms of overall value of deposits, with almost 239 billion euros, equal to around a fifth of the national total. In second place is Lazio, with around 122 billion, followed by Veneto, with 105 billion. At the other extreme is Valle d’Aosta, with around 2.8 billion euros.
Looking at the provinces, Bolzano is in first place for per capita savings per inhabitant (30,400 euros).
They follow:
- Milan with 27,900 euros per inhabitant;
- Piacenza with 26,800 euros;
- Sondrio with 26,000 euros;
- Belluno with 25,650 euros.
Crotone closes the ranking with 9,679 euros per resident.
