Germans managed to save little money during Q1 2020
How much money Germans managed to save during lockdown: study. Source: shutterstock.com
According to research, German households’ bank deposits were up only €5.8 billion, which was unusually low even for the seasonally weak Q1 2020.
While the annual growth rate dropped, it remained healthy, at 4.3%, due to the strong preceding quarters.
In fact, households withdrew money from savings deposits (-€10.2 billion) and time deposits (-€2.9 billion). At the same time, sight deposits increased by €18.9 billion, the normal seasonal amount.
The main reason for these monthly changes was the coronavirus pandemic. While deposits continued to grow in line with the seasonal patterns in January and February, households withdrew €11.1 billion from their accounts in March.
The withdrawals have been carried out not just from savings deposits (-€3.9 billion) and time deposits (-2.4 billion), but also from sight deposits (-4.8 billion).
We’ve reported that remote work has positively impacted productivity in terms of reducing costs of both employers and employees, lowering traffic and pollution level.
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