Euro deposits fell by 0.4% during the first quarter of the year

2025-05-09 15:22:00, Ekonomi CNA

The growth of bank deposits in Euro has slowed in the first quarter of this year.

According to statistics from the Bank of Albania, at the end of March, deposits in the European currency were worth 8.01 billion euros, down 0.4% compared to the end of last year. Deposits in euros marked a temporary increase in January, reaching 8.08 billion euros, but then fell for two consecutive months in February and March.

Currently, Euro deposits are marking their lowest value since November last year.

Deposits in the European currency, however, remain in annual growth, by 8.5% compared to March of last year. However, their growth rates have reduced and have fallen to single-digit levels.

The decline in Euro deposits during the first quarter of the year, however, came from only one segment of clients, that of businesses. Business deposits fell by almost 140 million euros or more than 8% during the first quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, individual deposits, which also constitute the dominant part of deposits in the European currency, have continued to maintain a slight upward trend.

In the period 2021-2024, bank deposits in Euro grew at double-digit rates, reflecting the high foreign exchange inflows into the Albanian economy. According to the Bank of Albania, these inflows are mainly due to tourism and foreign direct investment.

However, the first quarter of this year seems to have put a stop to this ongoing upward trend for the time being. This could be a signal of a slowdown in foreign exchange inflows into the economy and is also consistent with the significant reduction in the growth rates of foreign national arrivals during the first quarter of the year.

However, the slowdown in the growth of Euro deposits has not yet led to major movements in the exchange rate. During the first quarter of the year, the Euro remained below the 100 lek limit, marking only a small upward correction, after falling near the 98 lek limit at the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, total bank deposits continued to grow in the first quarter of the year. According to the Bank of Albania, they reached 1.72 trillion lek, up 2.2% or about 38 billion lek since the beginning of the year. The growth in the first quarter of the year was mainly supported by deposits in the local currency./ Monitor Magazine