Individual, business savings deposits decline as banking climate index drops

According to a monthly survey by research firm Pentor, cash savings in individual and corporate bank accounts continue to decline. For the first time in many years, financial institutions are recording a negative balance for zloty and foreign currency deposits by companies. This means that companies are short of cash needed to settle their current liabilities, an indicator of a worsening economic climate. Although some companies have cash reserves in long-term accounts, the number of those also decreased. According to research, deposits into zloty current accounts increased in February in only 28% of bank branches, while in January the number had been 50%. The Pengab banking economic climate index decreased to 17.9% from 22.9% in January. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4; Puls Biznesu, p. 7) M.T.