Savings deposits by category of banks

Savings deposits remain a key source of funding for the savings banks and credit co-operatives. In both categories of banks, they account for over 30% of the balance sheet total. For the commercial banks, savings deposits make up only 5½% of the balance sheet total. This reflects the differences in the client base of the various categories of banks (mostly retail customers at savings banks and credit co-operatives, while commercial banks have a more mixed clientele).

Table: Savings deposits by category of banks

It may seem surprising that the proportion of savings deposits at the building and loan associations is so low. This is because the Deutsche Bundesbank includes savings deposits at these institutions in its statistics for long-term time deposits. Savings deposits play no role whatsoever at the mortgage banks and special purpose banks because these are specialist institutions which fund themselves in other ways.

In all the categories of banks that accept savings deposits, long-term deposits have declined sharply in importance in recent years. Savings deposits with a three-month period of notice have been largely able to maintain their share of the banks’ total assets. But this is only because the banks have developed a variety of so-called “special” savings facilities, which pay an interest bonus on top of the usual interest rate if savings are kept in the bank for a longer period of time. These special savings facilities now make up by far the largest share of total savings deposits. At the savings and commercial banks they account for over three-quarters of all short-term savings deposits and at the credit co-operatives over 72%. These figures highlight the fact that customers of all categories of banks are becoming increasingly yield conscious.