Individuals increasing chose to save investment funds rather than banks

The public are still saving very little, mostly due to insufficient income, and if they happen to put some money away, they tend to choose the services of investment funds, rather than traditional bank deposits. At the end of t he first half of 2003, individual savings totalled zł. 274 billion, which is about zł. 7 billion more than a year ago. It is impossible to estimate how much money is being kept "under the mattress" or in valuable goods. Accordi ng to the latest analysis, it turns out that the public are saving much less than they used to a few years ago. It has been estimated that over the comi ng years the pace of savings growth will amount to 5-6% per annum. The fall ing propensity to save is mainly due to the difficult economic situation, g rowing unemployment and the slow increase in the growth of real salaries. At present, 71% of all savings is located in banks, which is 3% less than at t he end of last year. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.