Money held on deposit by Irish households increased by €4.7 billion, or 3.1 per cent, in the year to the end of September, according to new figures from the Central Bank.
The rise was driven by an €8.3 billion increase in deposit accounts with an agreed maturity of up to two years. This offset a €4.4 billion drop in annual overnight deposit flows.
Overnight deposits represented 87.3 per cent of the total stock of household deposits at the end of September, but this is a slowly decreasing share.
The trend, in evidence since the start of the year, likely springs from savers seeking to avail of the higher interest rates on offer through term deposits.
In the month of September alone, household deposits increased by €159 million, and stood at €157.5 billion at the end of the month, the Central Bank said.
This was driven by a €647 million increase in term deposits during the month against a drop in overnight deposits worth €476 million.
Net lending to households stood at €544 million in September. There was a €470 million increase in loans for house purchase and a €102 million rise in consumer lending in the month.
Over the year, net lending to households increased by €2.6 billion, or 2.6 per cent. This falls to 2.4 per cent after accounting for the impact of repayments on securitised loans.
Similar to previous months, this was mostly driven by loans for house purchase and consumer lending, with a contribution of €1.9 billion and almost €1 billion respectively.
Net lending to non-financial corporations (NFCs), meanwhile, was €444 million in September 2024, primarily driven by short-term lending, which increased by €418 million.
On an annual basis, NFC lending increased by €1.1 billion, or 3.9 per cent.
Total bank lending to the Irish private sector increased by €4.3 billion, or 3 per cent, over the year, the Central Bank also said, and stock stood at €149.1 billion at the end of September.
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