(Press Release from Governor’s Cabinet)

By rising EUR 79.5 million in July households’ foreign exchange savings hit a record monthly high in the past three years. On the last day of the preceding month, foreign exchange savings reached EUR 1,816.3 million, whereby their growth in the first seven months this year already overshot the overall increase in foreign exchange savings recorded in the entire past year.

Rising continuously in 2005, foreign exchange savings increased by EUR 387.4 million until end-July, which is a 27.1% rise relative to end-2004. The fact that foreign exchange savings shot up EUR 73.6 million in June as well suggests that confidence in the banking sector is also reflected in the fact that citizens increasingly invest foreign exchange received in respect of frozen foreign exchange savings payments in banks in the form of new savings deposits.

Furthermore, the share of savings deposits termed for a period in excess of six months and one year has been steadily increasing, reaching 26.1% of overall foreign exchange savings; this has been attended with a shrinking share of demand foreign exchange savings deposits and savings deposits with shorter maturity.