Italian banks see deposits plunge, credit to firms at 8-yr low

Italian savers shifted 20 billion euros ($22.02 billion) out of deposits with domestic banks in May, while lenders continued to shrink credit to businesses and stepped up bond sales, Bank of Italy data showed on Tuesday.

A combination of high inflation and rising interest rates in the wake of the European Central Bank’s unprecedented tightening cycle has prompted savers to seek better remuneration for their cash as banks have been slow in raising deposit rates.

Italian lenders increased their bond issuance by 13.2% in May from a year earlier after a 9.4% rise in April while residents’ deposits with domestic banks fell 4.3% after a 3.4% decline in April.

On a monthly basis, deposits in euros fell by 20 billion euros to 2,614.3 billion euros in May from April, touching the lowest level in nearly two-and-a-half years.

Domestic lenders’ credit to businesses fell 3.2% year-on-year in May, the lowest level since February 2015, from a 2.3% drop in April.

The central bank data also showed gross unpaid loans were broadly flat at 30.24 billion euros in May, from 30.12 billion euros a month earlier.

($1 = 0.9081 euros)