Greek households have approximately 7.2 billion euros deposited in foreign banks, placing Greece in third position in a pan-European ranking of countries with the highest deposits abroad as a percentage of total deposits, following Cyprus and Luxembourg. According to a report by Matthias Rumpf on the ECB blog, deposits held by Greeks in other Eurozone banks account for 4.7% of the total. In contrast, Cyprus has a figure of 9.5%, and Luxembourg 7.5%.

In terms of absolute amounts, Greece ranks seventh overall, with Germany leading the list at 52.9 billion euros in foreign deposits. Following Germany are France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Italy, with respective amounts of 15.9 billion, 15 billion, 12.4 billion, 10.2 billion, and 9.9 billion euros. Estonia holds the lowest position, with only 275.6 million euros in foreign deposits, followed by Lithuania at 371 million euros and Finland at 504 million euros.

Interestingly, Greek banks also rank poorly in attracting foreign deposits, securing the third lowest position at 0.6%, trailing Slovenia and Ireland. Luxembourg dominates this area with a significant 37.3% of incoming deposits, while Estonia and Lithuania follow with 20.2% and 15.5%, respectively. Cyprus is sixth with 4.5 billion euros in incoming deposits.

The financial crises significantly undermined Greece and Cyprus’s reputations as reliable deposit “destinations,” particularly due to Greece’s capital controls and Cyprus’s significant deposit haircut. Despite this decline in credibility, there have been some signs of recovery in the movement of cross-border deposits within the Eurozone.

Factors influencing the mobility of deposits include interest rates, which have prompted a notable “export” of deposits from mid-2022 to September 2023. During this period, depositors sought higher-yielding opportunities. In addition to interest rates, the competition among digital banks aims to draw in depositors from abroad, further impacting the dynamics of deposit mobility. As of 2023, European depositors held a total of 151 billion euros in foreign banks, accounting for 1.6% of total deposits within the Eurozone—a notable increase from 95 billion euros (1.2%) in early 2020.

Πηγή: naftemporiki.gr