Due to falling deposits, banks raise fixed-term rates in dollars to 6%

"It is a commercial strategy to retain deposits." In this way, they explain in one of the large foreign banks why they decided to raise the fixed-term rate in dollars, which doubled from the Friday before the elections STEP to today, going from 1.2% to 2.5% Annual for 30-day deposits, according to the BCRA average, although in those of more than US $ 1 million the percentage of the increase was even greater, going from 1.4% to 3.5% per year.

The reason must be sought after the private fixed-term stock fell from US $ 7426 million on Friday prior to the STEP to $ 6412 million on Tuesday, marking a decrease of US $ 1014 million, according to the latest figure available at the Central Bank.

Total foreign currency deposits in the financial system decreased from US $ 32,578 million to US $ 24,982 million since the PASO and marks a decrease of US $ 7596 million, which represents more than 20% of the total.

The majority were withdrawals from savings banks in dollars, which decreased from US $ 24,464 million to US $ 1 17,841 million, marking a decrease of US $ 6623 million. Most of that amount is deposits of less than $ 1 million.

"Banks need to retain depositors with an attractive rate, so they raised the rate, mostly for large amounts. Today the credit is very low and they are looking more at liquidity and not having problems at a time of massive dollar withdrawals." , analyzes Amílcar Collante, economist at CeSur.

That is why BBVA stung at the tip and today is paying 1% per year for fixed terms in dollars at 30 days, 1.5% at 90 days, 5% at 180 days and 6% at 366 days.

The Nation followed him and went on to pay from 2 to 2.75% at 30 days, from 2.5 to 3.25% at 90 days, from 2.75 to 3.5% at 180 days and from 3 to 3, 75% to 364 days.

Galicia, meanwhile, went from paying 0.6 to 2.1% to 30-day dollarized plazofijistas, while HSBC doubled the rate from 0.5 to 1% at 30 days. In longer terms the rate increased more than one point, but they are not seeing longer term deposits being constituted: "There is a company that rolls for 90 days, but it is not usual," they comment.

"It is public knowledge that there is a dollar deposit outflow. In this sense, the rate increase serves in the margin to retain some of that output. It is to tempt someone in the margin to stay, then everyone decides," he says. Miguel Zielonka, associate director of Econviews, Miguel Kiguel's consultant.

"There are no worrisome liquidity problems: it is only a healthy precautionary measure," says the financial manager of an international bank.

Mariano Gorodisch