There are twice more loans than savings accounts in Romania, and this ratio has been maintained for about four years, according to a GfK study.  In 2007-2008, Romanians had almost three times more loans than savings.

“In terms of number of clients, both loans and savings products are on a downward trend that started in 2009. However, the amount saved in banks continues to slightly increase, even though the number of those who contribute to this amount decreases,” said Anca Zamfirescu, Senior Research Consultant GfK Romania.

The study’s results on lending and savings show a large gap between European states, with four countries standing out, namely Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

“Not just that these are the only countries where half or over half of the population holds a savings product, but these are the only countries where the number of people who own a savings account exceeds the number of people who have a bank loan,” according to GfK.

In Germany and Austria, the ratio between loans and savings products is of 1 to 3, while in Slovakia and the Czech Republic the ratio is 1 to almost 2.

In all the other countries surveyed, the penetration of savings products stays at an average of 22 percent of the population, or less.

In Slovenia, Macedonia and Croatia, almost 20 percent of the people have savings in banks, while Serbia Ukraine and Turkey are the three countries where the number of people that have loans exceeds the number of those with savings products.

In fact, Serbia is the country with the lowest number of people who keep their money in banks, only 2.6 percent of them saying they have savings.

The GfK study measures the banking habits of people aged over 15 from a total of 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. In Romania, the study was conducted on a sample of 6,000 people.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com