Household deposits increased by €6.3 billion, or 4.1 per cent, in the year to end of October 2024, new figures from the Central Bank show.
The rise was driven by an €7.9 billion increase in deposit accounts with an agreed maturity of up to two years. This offset a €2.3 billion drop in annual overnight deposit flows.
Overnight deposits represented 87 per cent of the total stock of household deposits at the end of October, but this is a slowly decreasing share from a peak of 93.8 per cent in April 2023. The fall in October was the tenth consecutive drop in annual overnight deposit flows.
The shift likely springs from savers seeking to avail of the higher interest rates on offer through term deposits.
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After stabilising in September, deposits with a maturity up to two years continue to show a positive annual growth in October 2024, albeit at a slower pace.
In the month of October alone, household deposits increased by €1.5 billion and stood at €159.1 billion at the end of the month.
But in contrast to previous months, this was mostly driven by a €943 million increase in overnight deposits, while term deposits flows remained positive at €583 million in the month.
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Net lending to households stood at €408 million in October, the Central Bank also said. This was mostly driven by loans for house purchase, which rose by €333 million, and to a lesser extent by an increase of €113 million in consumer lending.
In annual terms, net lending to households increased by €2.8 billion, or 2.8 per cent, in the year to the end of October. The movement was almost entirely driven by loans for house purchase, which recorded an annual flow worth €2.2 billion in the period.
Total bank lending to the Irish private sector increased by €4.5 billion, or 3.1 per cent, over the period, with the stock standing at €149.5 billion at the end of October.
Annual flows of loans to non-financial corporations and to other financial institutions remained positive at €849 million and €891 million respectively.
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