Romanians set aside as savings or investments EUR 59 per month on average in 2020, 6% more than one year earlier and 28% more compared to 2015, according to a Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) regional report carried by Erste Bank Group.

However, this is only half of the money set aside by Slovaks - the leaders in the group of countries polled by the Austrian bank.

The report revealed a similar growing trend in all the countries and a rising awareness for the importance of setting aside money.

Czechs and Serbs posted the largest increases (both up 9% year-on-year), outpacing the growth in the average monthly savings volume in Romania (up 6%), as well as in Hungary (up 3%), Slovakia and Croatia (both up 2%).

In absolute terms, the Slovaks (EUR 113) continued to save slightly more than the Czechs (EUR 109), Hungarians (EUR 63), and Croatians (EUR 63).

The CEE savers managing to put more money aside this year were able to do so thanks to higher incomes and improved overall employment levels, as well as by deferring or canceling larger purchases, the report concludes.

At the same time, 2020 has also seen a rise in the share of survey respondents saying that their personal financial situation has generally worsened over the past few years, with rising costs of living and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis named as the main reasons by those putting less money aside.

(Photo: Pixabay)

andrei@romania-insider.com