Current account holders lose out despite recent hikes in interests rates

Following two recent interest rate hikes by the Monetary Policy Council (RPP), commercial banks raised interest on deposits more than on loans, but this did not include interest on funds held in current accounts. The average floating rate on a three-month deposit is now 3.5% annually, 0.8 points higher than a year ago. Interest rates on loans also increased, particularly those based on the WIBOR rate, which react automatically to changes in interest rates. However, banks are not keen to raise interest on current accounts, even though last year, when RPP was cutting rates, they were quick to lower interest on these accounts. In fact, despite the two recent interest rate hikes by a total of 0.75 points, interest rates paid on current accounts actually declined between June and July. PKO BP analyst Robert Sobieraj believes, that this is because few people hold savings in these accounts, as they can take advantage of weekly or monthly time deposits offering higher rates. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B7) T.J