MADRID (Reuters) – Deposits held by Spanish households and companies reached a record in May as they stashed money during the coronavirus lockdown from mid-March, according to data from the Bank of Spain published on Friday.
Spanish households’ deposits grew 7.2% in May compared to the same month a year ago to a record of around 882 billion euros ($991 bln), while companies’ deposits increased 13.8% to an all-time high of 287.2 billion euros.
Credit to households – both consumer and mortgage loans – dropped sharply in Spain during the lockdown’s first weeks, something banks hope to reverse with government-backed corporate lending.
A poll in May by the government’s Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS) showed worried Spaniards are postponing or shunning big spending such as travel and new cars.
Only 14% of those surveyed by the CIS in May said they planned to travel abroad post-lockdown. Only 4.2% were thinking about buying a new car and 3.4% a house.
Total deposits, including non-residents and local public administrations, rose 5.4% in May from a year earlier to 1.514 trillion euros.
(Reporting By Jess Aguado; Editing by Inti Landauro and Andrew Cawthorne)
